A 2-year-old boy was struck by a stray bullet while playing outside at his Utah daycare last week.
According to a statement from Spanish Fork Police, the toddler was “bleeding from his face” after he apparently fell while playing with other children in the “vinyl-fenced area” of Leap Ahead Daycare.
“At first, we thought she had tripped and hit her head,” Lane Mugleston, the daycare’s owner, said, as reported by CNN affiliate KSLTV.
The boy’s parents took him to the hospital after being notified of the incident, the statement said.
However, police said: “It was not until at the hospital that doctors discovered through scans that the boy had a small caliber bullet lodged in his head.”
It was later reported that the boy was in the hospital last Tuesday, and was “in stable and improving condition,” according to the statement.
Mugleston told the CNN-affiliated outlet that “the doctors are monitoring him and said his vital signs are fine and they expect a full recovery. So they think that’s a blessing.”
According to the release, officers identified a man shooting birds with a .22 caliber air rifle near the day care center.
“We do not believe this was a targeted incident,” Lt. Cory Slaymaker told KSLTV. “We feel like this was more of an accident, and the person who probably did it doesn’t even know he did it.”
The statement said the identified man is cooperating with police, and his name will not be released until the investigation is closed and prosecutors decide whether to file formal charges after review.
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