Panola County deputies responded Saturday evening after a 911 call reported a child with a gunshot wound.
According to the Panola County Sheriff’s Office, dispatch received the call at 5:39 p.m. on November 8 from a parent who said their spouse was taking their 4-year-old to the UT Health Carthage emergency room.
Deputies arrived to find the boy being treated for a gunshot wound to the leg. Investigators said the child and his father were leaving a deer stand near Ragley Road (County Road 182) when the boy discharged a pistol that the father had been carrying in a holster.
The child’s injury was non-life-threatening, and he was transported by ambulance to a Dallas hospital for further treatment.
An investigator interviewed those involved at the hospital and processed the scene. Evidence found in the deer stand matched the account given during the investigation.
Authorities called the incident a tragic accident and said they are thankful the child is recovering.
