ABC NEWS

COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA

The girl reportedly found a permitted handgun in her grandmother's purse as they shopped at a Sam's Club store.

(AP Photos/ABC)

A 4-year-old girl shot herself in the chest Monday after snatching her grandmother's handgun from the woman's purse while riding in a shopping cart at a Sam's Club store, authorities said.

A witness, Lueen Homewood, said store workers grabbed first-aid materials off store shelves to help the grandmother as she cradled the wounded child near the store's pharmacy, The (Columbia) State newspaper reported on its Web site.

The girl was rushed to a hospital in critical condition and was recovering Monday afternoon after surgery, said police department spokesman Brick Lewis. Hospital officials would not release her condition after the operation.

Lewis said the grandmother, Donna Hutto Williamson, has a permit to carry a concealed weapon and the purse containing the small-caliber handgun was in the cart near the child. The 47-year-old Williamson, of Salley, was not immediately charged with a crime.

Comments (1)

WHITELITE03: ... While what happened is very unfortunite and the grandmother should have kept the weapon under her direct control, the AP and ABC shouldn't post inaccurate pictures just to hype the story. The Glock pictured is not a small caliber, and is in fact a fairly large gun. I understand it makes the story more appealing to readers to have a picture of a gun on the headline, but let's shoot for accuracy instead of singling out a gun manufacturer with an inaccurate photo. 1 June 30, 2008

Write comment

You must be logged in to post a comment. Please register if you do not have an account yet.