8-year-old Utah boy dies after shooting himself with mom’s gun

An 8-year-old boy has died after shooting himself with a gun while his mom was buying a treat at a convenience store in Lehi City, Utah, according to witnesses and local officials.

The incident happened at around 7:39 p.m. on Monday when officers were called for a shooting at a Maverick gas station on N. Thanksgiving Way in Lehi, about 21 miles (34 km) south of Salt Lake City.

When officers arrived, they found an 8-year-old boy who was suffering from a gunshot wound to the head. He was taken to an area hospital and later airlifted to a different hospital up north, where he died on Tuesday morning.

“The shooting appeared to be unintentional and self-inflicted,” the Lehi City Police Department said in a brief statement on Tuesday. His name was not immediately released.

A witness, Doug Shields, told KSL TV that he heard the boy’s mother screaming for help.

“And then she goes, ‘He shot himself, he shot himself, he shot himself,'” Shields recalled. “And I first thought suicide, and she goes, ‘He found the gun under my seat and pulled the trigger.’ It apparently was an accident. It was a total accident.”

Shields said he and another bystander helped the boy’s mother over to a curb, where she passed out. When she regained consciousness, she said she and her child were going to the store to get a treat, according to KSL-TV.