Two Utah Children Survive Accidentally Shooting Themselves in the Head on Same Day

Two children are recovering after accidentally shooting themselves in the head in separate incidents on the same day.

Both boys are said to be in a stable condition after suffering from gunshots wounds on Thursday, January 30.

In the first incident, a 3-year-old boy accidentally shot himself after finding his parents' loaded gun in Murray, south of Salt Lake City.

The boy was taken to Intermountain Medical Center at around 6:30 a.m. before being flown to Primary Children's Hospital, where he is in a stable condition, Desert News reported.

According to Murray Police Department officer Kenny Bass, the boy woke up before his parents and sister and managed to get his hands on the firearm using a chair.

"He was able to climb up on the counter and able to obtain a handgun, which was actually placed fairly high up in the kitchen," Bass told Fox 13. "It's shocking to me that he's stable and everything is good."

An investigation has been launched into why the loaded gun was not more securely put away, although charges are unlikely to be filed against the family.

"Right now we have a family dealing with it as tragic as it began," Bass added. "It's still tragic, but has some light there."

At around 5 p.m. the same day, a 9-year-old boy also suffered non-life threatening injuries after accidentally shooting himself in the head in Brigham City, about an hour north of Salt Lake City.

The boy was taken to the Brigham City Community Hospital before being taken to Primary Children's Hospital in a stable condition.

Further details about the shooting, including how the boy came to possess the gun, was not immediately clear.

Both incidents were acknowledged by Utah's Bountiful City Police Department on social media.

"With the stories in the news involving children and firearms, we want to remind everyone that we have free gun locks at our station, the department tweeted. "Come on down, pick up the phone at the dispatch window, and ask for a gun lock. Please take advantage of this, and keep your firearms secure."

Newsweek has contacted both Murray Police and Brigham City Police for further comment.

According to the Gun Violence Archive, 16 children under the age of 11 have been killed by a firearm in 2020, with another 49 also injured. There have also been 60 gun deaths involving children aged 12 to 17, with the number of injured in the same age bracket totalling 186, according to the data.