JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Police say a 16-year-old accidentally shot himself in the head Friday night at a home in the 9900 block of Somerset Grove Lane on the Westside.
The teen's sister and his close friend said they were at home when he was "demonstrating something with a revolver."
They said the boy didn't think the gun was loaded when he pulled the trigger and the gun backfired. His sister said she carried him to a car to take him to the hospital, but an ambulance arrived and took him to Orange Park Medical Center with life-threatening injuries.
"When he did this on accident, it popped him in the head. We didn't think anything of it at first because we thought he was playing," said an 18-year-old friend who was in the house at the time but did not want to be identified. "He was demonstrating something for us and then it just all fell in place and he just fell to the floor and started bleeding."
Channel 4 crime and safety expert, Ken Jefferson, said it's a tragic situation that could have been avoided.
"A weapon in the hands of a 16-year-old is a dangerous mix, simply because they're not going to be conscious and cautious of the dangers of this weapon, whether you assume that it's loaded or not loaded," Jefferson said.
Police did not release the name of the boy when they briefed Channel 4 Friday evening.