Mother charged after toddler accidentally shot by another child in North Philadelphia: police

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- A North Philadelphia mother is behind bars after police say one of her young children got hold of her legally owned gun and shot their 2-year-old brother.

Police said it happened around 8:10 p.m. Monday in the home along N. 21 St. near W. Diamond Street.

The children's mother, 30-year-old Regine Prentice, has been arrested and charged with endangering the welfare of a child and related offenses, police said.

Authorities say the child was brought to Temple University Hospital by his mother with a gunshot wound to the left shoulder. He was later transferred to St. Christopher's Hospital for Children, where he is in stable condition.

Police say, at first, Prentice stated she did not know how her son was struck by gunfire.

Authorities later learned it was Prentice's legally owned gun that was grabbed by another young child in the home. The weapon and a spent .380 caliber casing were recovered by detectives.

"We determined the shooting occurred inside the 2nd-floor bedroom where another child got hold of an unlocked gun. The bullet went off, striking the 2-year-old," said Captain James Kearney, who heads Philadelphia Police's Shooting Investigative Group.

According to 6abc's data journalism team, in the last 10 years, 49 children ages 10 and under were victims of an accidental shooting in Philadelphia.

"That's the tragedy here. It could've all been prevented by storing the gun in a locked safe, something locked, or putting a lock on the actual gun," stressed Kearney.

The Philadelphia Sheriff's Office provides easy-to-use gun locks for free at the Philadelphia Sheriff's Office South Broad Street location on the fifth floor.

Jamison Rogers, the Chief of Staff to Sheriff Rochelle Bilal, said they also hold community events with free locks across the city.

"The leading cause of accidental shootings are unsecured firearms with children," said Rogers.

Prentice is also facing charges in Delaware County in a separate case where she is accused of terroristic threats.

The investigation is ongoing.

Anyone with information is asked to call police at 215-686-TIPS.