Police attempt to save child who found unlocked gun; tragic trend growing in Northeast Ohio (bodycam)
CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - Caught on police bodycam, first responders frantically tried to save an innocent child who found an unlocked gun, and pulled the trigger. But despite their best efforts, the boy did not survive.
An alarming number of kids have been shot and several have died just in the past few weeks.
At least five children have been shot in the Cleveland area since March 18, and three of those children have died, including a 2-year-old.
Police in several communities blames some of this on gun owners who don’t secure their weapons.
In the Cleveland bodycam video obtained by 19 News you hear an officer yell, “We’re coming, we’re coming,” as they run to a home on West 49th Street.
Officers rush to try and help a child gunshot victim after a late-night 911 call on Tuesday.
The call came into dispatchers as an 11-year-old male with a gunshot to the stomach.
The child was not conscious and not breathing according to the caller.
Once officers were inside the home, they were faced with the most tragic of circumstances. An unidentified man believed to be the child’s father was desperate to get help for his son, “I just heard the gunshot. Please help me, please.”
Police attempted life-saving efforts, but they were unable to save the young boy.
Eleven-year-old Yaniel Rivera died at MetroHealth.
A man overcome with grief fainted and was carried out of the home by police to an ambulance.
A next-door neighbor was visibly distressed after she learned of the child’s death from 19 News, and said it’s difficult to hear about a young child being killed like that.
In this case, police say the preliminary investigation shows the child may have accessed the firearm himself. The investigation is ongoing.
In another tragic case, Akron Police say 10-year-old Kismet Sengdan died after he was shot in the head on Thursday.
Detectives believe the gun was accidentally discharged from at least one other child’s mishandling of the weapon.
And 14-year-old Christine Holden is fighting for her life at a Cleveland hospital after she was shot in the face.
The victim told her mother she was at a friend’s house and it was an accident, police say another child shot Christine. Possible charges related to improper storage of guns could be filed.
But, police say if gun owners would just lock and secure their guns, it would go a long way in preventing guns from getting in the wrong hands and the accidental shootings of children.
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