Five-year-old boy shot himself in leg in Strawberry Mansion home, police say

The child was taken to the hospital and placed in stable condition

A 5-year-old boy accidentally shot himself in the leg in Strawberry Mansion on Wednesday morning. He was taken to the hospital and is in stable condition.
Thom Carroll/for PhillyVoice

A 5-year-old boy accidentally shot himself in the leg Wednesday morning in his North Philadelphia home, police said.

The child reportedly found the gun hidden in a bedroom but unsecured in the Strawberry Mansion house, located on the 3100 block of N Patton Street. The incident occurred around 11:30 a.m. 

The child was taken to the hospital and is in stable condition, according to multiple media reports.

The boy's 13-year-old and 1-year-old siblings, along with his mother and grandmother, were all in the house at the time of the shooting, FOX 29 reported. 

It is not known if the firearm was legally licensed. 

There have been at least 47 shootings involving children under the age of 18 this year, data from the City Controller's Office shows. Of those cases, seven have been fatal.

Last month, a 10-year-old boy was charged for accidentally shooting his 12-year-old brother in Strawberry Mansion. Investigators believe the boy found the gun in another home, took it back to his house and opened fire, shooting his sibling. 

In the aftermath of the city passing 100 homicides for the year, District Attorney Larry Krasner urged parents to lock up their guns properly. Nationally, gunshots are the leading cause of death among children and adolescents.