Osceola County Sheriff's deputies continue to investigate the tragic fatal shooting of a two-year-old boy outside of a vacation rental home Sunday afternoon.
Police say the incident took place just before 4 p.m. Sunday on Scrapbook Street in Kissimmee, which is located in The Cove East at Storey Lake rental community north of Pioneer Village at Shingle Creek Regional Park. Deputies were called to the area after receiving several 911 calls about a shooting, Sheriff's Office spokesperson Capt. Kim Montes said.
Deputies found a two-year old male with a gunshot wound and provided life-saving measures until he was transported to Arnold Palmer Hospital, where he was later pronounced deceased.
Investigators have learned the family had traveled from Louisville, Georgia to Osceola County to stay in an Airbnb. As they arrived at their destination Sunday, the two-year-old was left in the car, and a four-year-old family member entered the vehicle and located an unsecured, unholstered handgun. Family members were outside of the car and had not yet entered the home, when they heard a gunshot coming from inside the vehicle.
Sheriff Chris Blackmon said details such as the type of gun involved and where on his body the victim was shot were not available yet as the investigation, in which the Medical Examiner’s Office and the Department of Children and Families are a part of, is still ongoing.
“The four-year-old is the only witness,” Montes said.
Documents from the incident such as the 911 calls are still being processed.
Blackmon said charges may be pending against the family once the State Attorney’s Office begins its investigation.
While one may not have been available in this case, Blackmon touted gun locks that will prevent a gun from being discharged while locked; the Sheriff’s Office gave some away at a May 1 public event following another accidental shooting case involving a 3-year-old boy who accessed a gun in a Poinciana home a week prior and shot himself in the chest.
“The gun was unsecured … literally laying out by itself,” Blackmon said regarding the Sunday shooting. “We’ve got these gun locks that are so simple to put on, and it would stop that problem from happening. Amazon has them for five bucks.”
Check back to AroundOsceola.com for updates into this case.
