DELTONA -- A 16-year-old boy remains hospitalized at Halifax Medical Center in Daytona Beach after accidentally shooting himself in the head with his mother's handgun Friday, the Volusia County Sheriff's Office said.
The boy, identified today as Dillon Charles,was visiting his mother at 2821 India Blvd., when he accidentally shot himself while handling the firearm, deputies said. The boy was breathing when rescue units arrived, but was non-responsive to the verbal commands of the responding deputies at 12:54 p.m., three minutes after a 911 call was made.
Initial reports indicate that the victim may have accidentally shot himself with a handgun, however deputies are conducting an investigation to confirm the details and determine how the shooting occurred, Sheriff's spokesman Gary Davidson said, pointing out that the shooting victim does not live with his mother, who was not home at the time of the incident, but two other teens were present -- a 17-year-old boy who lives at the house and a 16-year-old boy from DeLand.
Davidson said he didn't have a specific medical update on the boy, who is expected to live.