Westminster Boy Is Wounded in Garage Shotgun Accident

A 9-year-old Westminster boy accidently shot a 13-year-old neighbor in the leg with a shotgun Tuesday afternoon while they were playing in the garage of the younger boy’s home.

The boys were playing with a third youth inside the garage in the 7200 block of 20th Street when the 9-year-old found his father’s loaded, 12-gauge shotgun wrapped in a blanket, Westminster Police Sgt. Larry Russell said.

“While the three were playing, the 9-year-old accidentally shot the 13-year-old boy in the left leg,” Russell said. The names of the boys were not released.

The wounded boy was taken to Fountain Valley Regional Hospital & Medical Center’s trauma ward, where he was undergoing surgery Tuesday night for artery damage. There was no information available about his condition.

A 15-year-old girl who lives at the 9-year-old’s house said she was in another room when the shooting occurred about 2:20 p.m.

The 9-year-old “pointed the gun at (the 13-year-old) and he accidently pulled the trigger,” she said. “It was just like, boom, a big explosion, then (the 13-year-old) got shot, and he ran (to the driveway) and yelled for (his mother). . . . He got on his knees, and all he kept on saying was . . . ‘I got shot!’ and (his mother) ran out here.”