UPDATE:
A four-year old boy was critically hurt, shot in the head at his family’s home, his father charged Tuesday in the case.
Cranston Police said the boy was in critical condition following surgery, and his father, Michael Jones, 33 is charged with several firearms related counts after admitting he fired a 9-millimeter handgun through a wall of a second-floor bedroom, striking the boy in the head in the next room. The boy’s grandfather called 9-1-1.
According to a statement from police, Jones was previously convicted of a felony assault and sentenced on June 1, 2022 to a two-year suspended sentence and probation. Jones is prohibited from possessing a firearm. He faces charges including felony assault, possession of a firearm by a person convicted of a crime of violence and firing in a compact area.
Here is our previously published story:
Steve Klamkin, WPRO News
A four year old boy was undergoing surgery Tuesday, rushed to the hospital in critical condition after being shot in the head at his family’s Cranston home, his father undergoing questioning, police said.
Calls to 9-1-1 began at about 10:14 A.M., said Police Chief Michael Winquist, reporting the child bleeding, not breathing. Fire and police crews responded to the home on Queen Street to find the child, on the second-floor, with a gunshot wound to the head. He was rushed to Hasbro Children’s Hospital in Providence.
“We’re praying and hoping the child makes it,” Winquist said. “Our thoughts are with the family at this time, and the child.”
“Our prayers of the city are with this young child,” added Mayor Kenneth Hopkins, who responded to the scene and consulted with police in the street in front of the two-story home.
“This is going to be a lengthy investigation, involving a lot of forensic analysis of what happened here, as well as interviewing the people that were in the residence at the time,” Chief Winquist said.
He said the father was undergoing questioning at the police station. He believed that a handgun was used, but at the time he spoke with reporters about an hour after the shooting, it had not yet been recovered. Police were waiting for a search warrant to enter the home.
Chief Winquist said shootings involving young children are difficult for responding officers.
“Absolutely, our officers were some of the first ones inside the residence. Anytime you see a child injured, especially to this degree, it’s always a difficult situation,” the chief said.
