4-year-old boy dies in accidental shooting

A 4-year-old died after he was accidentally shot while playing with a gun during a Memorial Day barbecue on the Southeast Side, officials said.

San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said a family was gathered at a home at about 7 p.m. in the 1400 block of Avant Avenue when the shooting occurred.

Officals said the boy was with a 10-year-old boy in a bedroom playing with the gun.

“Someone heard a pop and they ran inside and found the little boy had been shot in the stomach,” McManus said.

The family put the boy into a car and began driving him to a hospital, until they were impeded by a crash on South Evers Street and Rigsby Avenue.

An ambulance met them there and resumed his transport to San Antonio Military Medical Center, the chief said.

The boy was pronounced dead at the hospital, police said.

“Right now, we’re just trying to find the weapon and figure out exactly how this happened,” McManus said.

Police are investigating who exactly fired the shot, the chief said.

There were a number of people inside and outside the home, McManus said.

The owner of the gun was not home when the boy was shot, police said.