Four-year-old Shoots Himself Outside Publix As Mom Shops

A 4-year-old boy got hold of a gun left in his mom’s car and “accidentally shot himself” with two family members in the vehicle.

The incident happened on Sunday at a parking lot of a Publix grocery store over the weekend, according to DeKalb County police.

Authorities said Miyell Hernandez was with a relative in a car parked outside the Publix on Panola Road in DeKalb County on Sunday, Feb. 27, when he found a gun inside the vehicle and accidentally shot himself. Officers were alerted to the shooting just after 5 p.m.

Miyell’s mother had gone in the store while three kids — an infant, a 13-year-old, and Miyell — stayed behind in the car, DeKalb police said in an update Monday, Feb. 28. The 13-year-old immediately ran inside for help after the shooting.

Miyell was taken to a hospital where he died, authorities said. No other injuries were reported.

“Our hearts and thoughts go out to the Hernandez family,” DeKalb Police Chief Mirtha Ramos said in a statement. “We’re imploring gun owners to always keep their guns safe and secure.”

Authorities are still investigating the shooting, and no arrests have been made as of Monday, Feb. 28.

Sunday’s shooting marked the second in five days that has killed an Atlanta-area child, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. At least six kids younger than 18 have died as a result of gun violence in metro Atlanta so far this year, according to the newspaper.

In January, a 6-month-old boy was killed when bullets ripped through the back seat of his mother’s car during a drive-by shooting in Atlanta, McClatchy News previously reported. The child’s mother told officials she became caught in the crossfire of two groups who were shooting at each other.

Atlanta police arrested a 22-year-old in that case, charging him with felony murder and aggravated assault.

DeKalb County is about 17 miles northeast of downtown Atlanta.