OCALA, Fla. – The Ocala Police Department is investigating after they said a 14-year-old boy apparently shot himself in the neck.
Officers responded to Shadow Oaks Mobile Home Park, located at 3120 SE 10th Ave., on Monday afternoon where a resident flagged down the patrol vehicle and said the teenager was lying down inside on the living room floor.
Two women were tending to the teen’s injury and actively applying chest compressions, according to the office. The officer took over the chest compressions, and after a few minutes, the teen began to take shallow breaths and looked around. EMS arrived, took over medical treatment, and transported the boy to the hospital, where he remains in critical condition.
Detectives are investigating this incident, and it appears that the shooting was accidental, according to OPD.
“Prior to the shooting, two teen boys, who were friends, were inside the home. The boy who apparently shot himself was a neighbor and did not live at the home where the shooting occurred. The gun was inside the parent’s bedroom dresser. The victim found it and apparently shot himself in the neck by accident,” a spokesperson for the police department told FOX 35.
No adults were inside the home when the shooting took place. The gun owner, who is the other boy’s parent, was away at work.