Dad, grandmother charged after 3-year-old shoots self in leg

KINGSESSING (WTXF) - Police have arrested the father and grandmother of a 3-year-old girl after they say the toddler shot herself in the leg in her Kingsessing home. The girl is currently in stable condition.

Terrance Williams, the girl's father, has been charged with Endangering Welfare of a Child and Recklessly Endangering Another Person.

64-year-old Barbara McGill, the girl's grandmother, will be charged with Endangering Welfare of a Child, Recklessly Endangering Another Person and Tampering with Evidence.

Police say the toddler picked up her father's gun and shot herself in the leg on Sunday, November 26, the bullet tearing through her thigh and calf.

It happened in a front bedroom of their home on the 1300 block of South Wilton Street around noon.

The situation was made worse, police say, when the grandmother allegedly hid the gun before help arrived.

"Medics are trying to determine what actually happened inside the house. The grandmother is not helping at this point, telling us she didn't know. The father of this child, who owns the gun, had gone to work and left the gun with the grandmother, who was supposed to put it in a closet and secure it, which obviously did not happen," said Lieutenant John Walker.

It's not clear if the two other adults in the house were aware a gun was involved.

Police say the grandmother eventually came clean about the weapon, but police say precious time was wasted as paramedics tried to figure out what was causing the bleeding.

The incident is at least the third in the city where family members are accused of tampering before paramedics arrive.

"In all three of these cases, we've had some situations where families have clearly diverted us in different ways. And, that's just wrong. That's your kid that you're hurting there," said Lt. Walker.

"It's frustrating. It's driving us all crazy," Lt. Walker added. "You have these parents who want to have guns. You have a right to own a gun, but when you have children, you have a bigger responsibility to make sure that gun is put away."