Girl, 9, Is Shot With .44 Revolver Believed Left in Home by Worker

A 9-year-old girl was shot in the neck Tuesday after she and her sister found a .44-caliber magnum revolver that was apparently left in their Tustin-area home by a workman, Orange County sheriff’s deputies said.

The girl, identified as Melissa Delfrancia, was taken to United Western Medical Center-Santa Ana, where she underwent emergency surgery and was reported in stable condition Tuesday night.

Sheriff’s Department Lt. William Francis said the Delfrancia home in the 18500 block of Auburn Avenue, in an unincorporated area north of Tustin, is being extensively remodeled and that during the project several of the workers have been living in the house.

Francis said one of the workers apparently stored the powerful handgun under his bed, where Melissa’s 8-year-old sister, Natalie, found it just before 3 p.m. Tuesday. As Natalie held the gun, it discharged, striking Melissa in the neck, Francis said.

“We think the girl is going to be OK,” Francis said Tuesday evening. “She never lost consciousness. She was talking all the time. There was a great deal of bleeding.”

Francis said the girls’ parents were home at the time of the shooting, but were unaware that there was a gun in the house. The house is listed as the residence of Dana Delfrancia. A family member declined comment on the shooting.

Investigators were waiting to question the workman who owns the pistol, who was thought to have traveled out of town.

“We just want to ask some questions,” Francis said. “We’re treating it as an accident.”