Police: 4-year-old gets gun out of mom's purse, shoots himself at Myrtle Beach hotel

Wednesday, July 11, 2018
MYRTLE BEACH, South Carolina (WABC) -- A 4-year-old boy is in critical condition after police said he accidentally shot himself with a gun he got from his mother's purse.

The incident happened Saturday at Oceans One Resort in Myrtle Beach.
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Police said the child was playing without supervision when he got a gun out of his mother's purse and accidentally shot himself, WPDE reports.

The child has swelling in his brain and was rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment.

His parents, Heather Lyn Odom and Jeremy Jermaine Barrett, of Aberdeen, were arrested and charged with unlawful neglect of a child.
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Both appeared in court Sunday afternoon for a bond hearing and were released from custody.

"I'm going to let you out on your own recognizance," Judge Clifford Welsh said.



The couple is due back in court in September.

A detective said the Department of Social Services is working with the grandparents about the boy's care.

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