14-year-old son of a police officer accidentally shoots his 8-year-old brother in Walmart parking lot: Report

Two sons of an Oklahoma police officer were involved in a recent accidental shooting, reports say.

At around 2 p.m. on July 4, the boys — 14 and 8 years old, respectively — went with their mother to a Walmart in Choctaw, Oklahoma, a city of about 12,000 people east of Oklahoma City. The boys waited in the car while their mom went inside the store to buy something.

While the two were alone in the vehicle in the store parking lot, the 14-year-old found a gun and at some point accidentally fired the weapon, striking his 8-year-old brother in the chest. A witness heard the shot and called 911.

When police arrived, they found the 8-year-old with a bullet entry wound in his chest as well as an exit wound. The officers applied two chest seals to staunch the bleeding. They considered airlifting the boy to the hospital but instead decided to transport him to the University of Oklahoma Medical Center, about 15 miles away, by ambulance.

Reports indicate that the boy had been "alert" and speaking with officers when they arrived at the Walmart. As of 4 p.m. Tuesday, he was in stable but critical condition. KOKH-TV later reported that the boy had undergone surgery but did not provide other updates except to say that he was still recovering at the hospital with family by his side.

Some reports also claimed that the boys are the sons of an Oklahoma City police officer and that the gun used in the shooting had been their father's service weapon. A police statement later confirmed the two are children of an OKC officer. The officer was not present at the time of the shooting nor was he on the job at the time.

The identity of the registered owner of the weapon has still not been released, so whether the gun was their father's service weapon is still unknown. There have been no reports of any arrests in connection to the incident.

"It appears to be a total accidental shooting," Choctaw Police Chief Kelly Marshall told reporters.

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