AUSTIN, Texas — A child is in the hospital after police say they were accidentally shot by another child at an apartment complex in southeast Austin.
The Austin Police Department got a call at around 10:20 p.m. Monday to the Bridge at Asher apartments off Interstate 35, south of Slaughter Lane. Officers who arrived at the scene discovered a child had accidentally shot another child.
Police have not provided specific ages for the two children involved but said both are juveniles. Police also did not detail how severe the injuries are.
Neighbor Rebekah Vela said she is still shaken up after the incident.
"I could just hear the kids screaming and crying, and a couple of minutes later, I guess a bunch of cops showed up and busted in and they brought the child out," Vela said. "The kid obviously just looked unconscious."
Austin-Travis County EMS told KVUE the injured child was transported to a local trauma facility with critical, life-threatening injuries.
It is a sight that stays with Vela.
"I was just watching through the peephole and, you know, it definitely scared me," Vela said. "Soon after that, I just stopped watching 'cause it was just scary. Even just to be standing there by the door scared me."
The nonprofit Everytown for Gun Safety reports an average of 350 children a year get access to a loaded firearm and accidentally shoot themselves or someone else. From 2015 to the end of 2022, the organization reports there were more than 2,800 unintentional shootings by children under the age of 17, and 248 of those incidents happened in Texas.
Incidents like these shock fellow neighbor, Lexus.
"You know, if you don't have the right knowledge for guns, you know, you shouldn't have it, especially being a minor," Lexus said.
"That just makes me really sad because I work with children every day and their time is, you know, so precious. And it makes me really sad for that kid," Vela said.
APD said officers are still investigating this situation.
No additional information is available at this time.