San Diego

Angel Lopez Iniquez, 6, who was accidentally shot in the chest Sunday by an 11-year-old cousin, was listed in fair and stable condition Monday at Children’s Hospital.

Angel, of Southeast San Diego, underwent surgery Sunday for a gunshot wound to the lower left side of his chest, said hospital spokeswoman Terry Merryman.

He and a female cousin were playing with a group of small children in the yard of his home on Marine View Avenue when his cousin shot him with a gun they thought was a toy, police said.

The .22-caliber handgun was given to the children by a neighborhood boy who had found it in a nearby drainage ditch, according to police.

The children were taking turns pointing the gun at each other and then pulling the trigger. The gun did not fire until it was pointed at Angel, police said.

“We don’t know exactly why the gun went off when it did,” said Detective George Dowden. “The safety latch could have been on and then switched off by one of the kids as they passed the gun around.”

The boy’s parents were not home at the time of the shooting, police said. He was taken by ambulance to Sharp Memorial Hospital, then transfered to Children’s.