The two boys were sitting inside the car.
An eight-year-old boy was accidentally shot by his 14-year-old brother outside a Walmart store on Tuesday, in Oklahoma, the United States, as per a report in New York Post. The two boys were sitting inside a car while their mother was shopping at the store when the teenager found a gun and unintentionally shot his brother around 2pm, according to Choctaw Police Chief Kelly Marshall.
The sound was heard by passersby, who then called the emergency helpline number 911.
As per Fox News, the two boys are the sons of an Oklahoma City police officer. The gun also belonged to the off-duty officer. However, he was not present at the scene when the incident took place.
As soon as the police officers arrived at the scene, they sealed the boy’s entry and exit wounds with two chest seals in order to stop any bleeding, according to Mr Marshall.
The boy was talking and alert at the scene, the Post stated. According to the police chief, he was initially scheduled to be flown to a hospital, but emergency personnel decided to take him by ambulance to the University of Oklahoma trauma centre instead as the helicopter was “too far away”.
The outlet further said that the boy’s condition is said to be stable. He will also be taken for surgery shortly, as per Mr Marshall.
This incident comes months after a Walmart employee shot dead six people at a store bustling with Thanksgiving holiday shoppers before turning the pistol on himself. Walmart said that it was “shocked” by a shooting at its store in Virginia. The company added that it was “praying for those impacted, the community and our associates. “We’re working closely with law enforcement, and we are focused on supporting our associates,” they added.