Trust Fund Created for Boy Shot by 5-Year-Old

A trust fund was established Thursday to help pay the medical bills of a boy who was shot and injured by a 5-year-old.

Debbie Devine, manager of the apartment building where the shooting occurred, said she set up the fund to help the uninsured parents of 10-year-old Oscar Flores, who was listed in good condition Thursday at Western Medical Center-Santa Ana.

“They need help . . . “ Devine said. “Their son was a victim.”

Oscar Flores and a second boy were injured Wednesday when the 5-year-old fired a single bullet from a .38-caliber revolver. The bullet traveled through his brother’s chest and into Oscar’s. The boys had been playing unattended at the home of the brothers.

The parents of the second injured boy requested that the hospital not release their child’s condition. But Anaheim Police Sgt. Chet Barry said both boys are expected to live.

Barry said the boys apparently found the gun unloaded in a metal box inside a closet. “We have reason to believe that one of the older boys loaded the gun.” Police are still investigating the shooting, he said.

The gun is registered to the brothers’ mother, Katherine McGuire.

Devine said she set up the fund at a First Interstate Bank branch at 222 S. Harbor Blvd. in Anaheim. Anyone interested in donating can call her at (714) 776-6300.

Devine said office workers at the apartment complex have raised $65 for the trust fund.

Oscar Flores’ parents, Margarita and Hector Flores, could not be reached for comment, but Devine said they were very grateful that a fund was being established. “This whole thing has been very hard on them,” she said.