Sgt. Glen Demmon of the Beiseker RCMP detachment said a six-year-old boy shot on a family farm on Sept. 16 was released from hospital on Sept. 17 and is expected to make a full recovery.
According to Demmon, the farm is located between Beiseker and Airdrie, but he said he could not provide more specific information on the location.
Demmon said the cause of the accident was unknown and under investigation.
“Shortly after noon, Airdrie RCMP received a call for assistance from Calgary EMS of a reported gunshot wound, accidental, to a six-year-old male,” Demmon said.
“Their initial response determined that the incident actually occurred on a family farm in Beiseker’s detachment area and we then took over the investigation with the assistance of the Calgary General Investigative Section (GIS).”
EMS spokesperson Adam Loria said they received a 911 call from the family just after noon and arranged to meet them on Highway 2.
“It was actually a unique situation where we rendezvoused with an adult, I believe it was one of the parents, in a vehicle with the child on Highway 2 basically right in the vicinity of the city of Airdrie,” Loria said.
“It was a 911 call made on en route and we made arrangements to rendezvous with that person as quickly as we could.”
“We transported a child, believed to be six years of age, to the Alberta Children’s Hospital (ACH) with a gunshot wound to his upper torso. Luckily, the boy was in stable, non-life-threatening condition, however, we did classify that wound as being serious.”
Beiseker detachment is investigating to see if any charges will be laid, according to Demmon.
“(We’re investigating) whether or not any charges are warranted in respect to, primarily, Section 86 of the Criminal Code, which would be the careless use, storage and handling of a firearm,” Demmon said.
The firearm was a 22-calibre rifle, according to Demmon.
RCMP is not releasing the name of the child or the family.
“They haven’t committed a criminal act or anything yet, so really we don’t do that,” Demmon explained.
“(We want to) respect the family, the age of the kids. If it turns out there’s charges, the name of the accused will be released.”
If you have any information on any crime, call your local RCMP detachment or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or www.crimestoppers.ab.ca.
