Police: Lawrence 10-year-old ‘doing fine’ after father accidentally shot him Friday

A Lawrence boy accidentally shot by his father on Friday should be released from the hospital “in the next day or two,” Lawrence Police Department spokesman Sgt. Trent McKinley said Monday.

The 10-year-old boy was shot in the abdomen in the living room of his home in the 6200 block of West 22nd Court around 7:10 p.m. Friday, McKinley said. Police believe the incident happened as the boy and his father were watching TV together, and the father was disassembling and cleaning a handgun.

The father “inadvertently discharged the firearm after failing to verify a live round was not in the chamber of the weapon as he disassembled it,” McKinley said. The boy was sitting on the couch when the bullet struck him.

The boy was taken to Stormont-Vail hospital in Topeka with critical injuries after emergency responders arrived. McKinley said the child has since undergone surgery and is “doing fine.”

The father was taken to the Lawrence police Investigations and Training Center, 4820 Bob Billings Parkway, where he was interviewed and later released, McKinley said.

Lawrence police detectives had their first interview with the boy in the hospital Monday, McKinley said. They’d previously been at the hospital, but hadn’t had the opportunity to speak to the child.

The father has been cooperative with law enforcement throughout the investigation and is “very upset,” McKinley said. Though he did not know what kind of charges — if any — might be warranted, McKinley said the investigation’s report will be made available to the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office once completed.

McKinley said the name of the man is not being released as he has not been arrested or charged in this incident. The child’s name is also being withheld.