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Officers from the Yonkers Police Department were dispatched to a Nepperhan Avenue apartment shortly before noon on Saturday, April 13, where there was a report of a child who was bleeding from the head.
Yonkers Police Det. Sgt. Dean Politopoulos said that upon arrival, officers found the child on the bedroom floor and assisted members of the Yonkers Fire Department and Empress Emergency Medical Services in providing aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation before he was transported to an area hospital.
Politopoulos said that the child is currently listed in grave condition and is not expected to survive. A medical examination of his head found that he had suffered an apparent gunshot wound to the right temple. A criminal investigation is ongoing.
According to police, the preliminary investigation determined that the victim was home alone with a younger neighbor when he discovered or came into possession of a loaded handgun and fired two shots in the bedroom, with one striking a window and the other accidentally striking himself. Shortly thereafter, the child was located by family members who called 911. The neighbor was uninjured and uninvolved.
Investigators recovered an illegal, loaded .25-caliber semi-automatic pistol at the scene of the shooting. Politopoulos said that investigators are actively working to determine how the handgun came to be possessed by the child. The identity of the 12-year-old boy will not be disclosed, police noted.
“The City of Yonkers and Yonkers Police Department are saddened by this tragic event, and remind individuals that all firearms must be safeguarded from children. Gun locks are available for free at the Yonkers Police Community Affairs Division (914) 377-7375.”
The investigation into the incident is active and ongoing.
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