Toddlers Maim

Dad says 2-year-old son shot him

'MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Minneapolis police are trying to find out how a 2-year-old boy allegedly ended up with a gun and shot his father.

The 24-year-old man walked into Abbott Northwestern Hospital last Saturday with a gunshot wound to his arm. The man told police that his 2-year-old son had taken the gun from his mother's purse and fired it at him.

"I cannot think of the last time a 2-year-old was involved in a shooting," Lt. Amelia Huffman, a police spokeswoman, said Tuesday. "It's a pretty rare thing, thankfully."

Huffman said the 22-year-old mother was home but not in the room at the time. A 4-year-old child also was in the house, but there was no other witness to the shooting.

Police were investigating whether there was any child endangerment, since the 2-year-old apparently was able to reach a gun. No was arrested or charged.

The type of gun involved wasn't disclosed.

However, Joe Penaz, who teaches local gun safety classes at gun clubs and gun stores, said that it was possible for a small child to fire a gun if it was an automatic, which are as light as 7 ounces.

"Women seem to gravitate to small automatics," he said. Penaz said he carries an automatic that requires only 16 ounces of pressure on the trigger to fire.

Huffman said the incident underscores the importance of safety when a gun is in a household. "If you keep a firearm, keep it locked up," she said.'