Mother Arrested after Toddler Shot in Shoulder in North Philly

Mother Arrested, Charged after Toddler Shot in Shoulder in North Philly

US-TRAIN-ACCIDENT — Source: BRYAN R. SMITH / Getty

Police have arrested a mother, after a child showed up at a Philadelphia hospital after being shot in the shoulder on Monday.

Regine Prentice, 30, was apprehended in Monday’s shooting incident in that injured her 2-year-old son.

According to police, investigators were alerted to the incident when the boy was taken to a hospital in North Philadelphia at about 8:10 p.m. after being shot in the shoulder.

Authorities learned it was Prentice’s legally owned gun that was grabbed by another young child in the home. The weapon and a spent .380 caliber casing were recovered by detectives.

“We determined the shooting occurred inside the 2nd-floor bedroom where another child got hold of an unlocked gun. The bullet went off, striking the 2-year-old,” said Captain James Kearney, who heads Philadelphia Police’s Shooting Investigative Group.

“That’s the tragedy here. It could’ve all been prevented by storing the gun in a locked safe, something locked, or putting a lock on the actual gun,” stressed Kearney.

According to 6abc’s data journalism team, in the last 10 years, 49 children ages 10 and under were victims of an accidental shooting in Philadelphia.

Jamison Rogers, the Chief of Staff to Sheriff Rochelle Bilal, said they also hold community events with free locks across the city.

“The leading cause of accidental shootings are unsecured firearms with children,” said Rogers.

Police recovered one spent shell at the scene, officials said. The boy was placed in stable condition.