A 16-year-old boy was hospitalized Monday afternoon when police say he was accidentally shot by his 15-year-old friend while they were playing a game inside a house.
Trevor Hargrove was transported by emergency medical crews to a local hospital, where he was listed in stable condition, according to the Fort Smith Police Department.
The shooting occurred at 1:43 p.m. at 3818 Massard Road in Fort Smith. Police said Nico Sanders was playing a zombie game inside the house with his twin brother Marco and their friend Trevor. Trevor pointed an empty bow at one of the twins, and Nico obtained a .40-caliber handgun from his mother's night stand drawer and started playing with it, according to Fort Smith police.
Nico pointed the weapon at Trevor and fired it, after which a bullet struck Trevor in the upper torso near his shoulder, police said.
"They're good friends. It was just an accident, and I just want all parents to know to keep guns locked up and teach your kids gun safety. Just because the clip ain’t in the gun doesn't mean there’s not a bullet in the chamber and somebody can get hurt really bad," Trevor's mother, Kim Hargrove, said.
Neighbors were uneasy about guns being kept in insecure places in the neighborhood.
"We have a safe that only my husband knows the code, and everything and we keep them up and our kids don’t know any code," said Cindy Mcallister.
"I think one of the worse things you can do is to not train somebody on how to not use one because the curiosity obviously is what kills the cat," said Sam Mcallister.
The shooting is being investigated as accidental, and no criminal charges are pending, according to police.