The call came in at 12:18 a.m. Thursday from a home in the 2600 block of South Hicks Street.
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Police say the boy was playing with a gun in a second floor front bedroom when it accidentally discharged.
The boy was hit in the face.
Family members immediately rushed the child to Methodist Hospital.
He was later transferred to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia in critical condition.
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By 6 a.m. Thursday doctors had upgraded the boy's condition to stable.
Officials tell Action News the boy was conscious when he first arrived at the hospital, and that he is expected to survive.
Police say the boy's parents and four siblings were home when the incident happened.
Boy upgraded after shooting
"We don't know where the other family members, including the mother and father, were at the time of the shooting," Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small told Action News.
Investigators found a revolver and bullets in the bedroom where the incident happened.
Police say the weapon is legally registered to one of the home's occupants.
Early indications are that no charges will be filed against the gun's owner.
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