An upstate child is in the hospital after deputies say his little brother accidentally shot him. Now, the owner of the gun says it should have never happened.
It happened on Rolling Meadows Road in Laurens County around 9 am Friday morning. Laurens County Sheriff's deputies say that the three-year old got his hands on a pistol and shot his four year old brother accidentally. And the owner of the gun says he would give anything to take it all back.
"I'm kinda waiting on a phone call every minute," said Norman Blanton. "I just heard a pop sounded like someone dropped a glass," he said.
Blanton says he's been eaten up with guilt.
It was the .22-caliber gun that Blanton says he had hidden under a bed years ago for his wife's protection. But then the past turned into a tragedy, when a good family friend and his two young sons were visiting for a cookout and sleeping in the room when Blanton says the three-year old wandered out of bed.
"Mike was trying to get him back in bed," Blanton said. "He done crawled under the bed and found that gun and when he back out, he just pointed it and shot."
The gunshot went right into the stomach of his four-year old brother. The minutes after were pure panic.
"Is the person who shot him still there," asked a 911 operator.
"Yes, it's a little kid. Got hold of a pistol," was the response from the caller.
Blanton told News Channel 7's Melissa Keeney that the child is in the intensive care unit at Greenville Memorial Hospital where the reminder of the accident is lodged into his spine. However, Blanton wishes it was somewhere else.
"I'd take the bullet," Blanton said. "He's a strong little boy and acting like he didn't even get shot."
With tears in his eyes, Blanton is praying for the child's recovery. And in the meantime he's removed every gun from the house saying this one shot has hit a little too close to home.
"The gun shouldn't have been there."
Laurens County deputies do not believe that any charges will be filed in the case.
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