A 4-year-old boy who shot his 2-year-old brother in the head this afternoon after an argument in their southwest Houston home didn't seem to understand what he had done, police said.
"He's wondering where his brother is, and when his brother's coming back," said Sgt. Cameron Grysen of the Houston Police Department Homicide Division.
The 2-year-old was in critical condition tonight at Ben Taub Hospital with a single gunshot wound to his temple. The incident happened about 4:20 p.m. at a home in the 5500 block of Gatewood near South Post Oak Boulevard.
Grysen said the boys had been arguing when the 2-year-old threw a toy at his brother. While the mother thought the boys had returned to their room, they walked back to her room, where the older boy grabbed a loaded gun from his mother's purse.
"The 4-year-old was angry ... he went and got the gun, put it to his brother's head and shot the gun," Grysen said.
The bullet entered one of his temples before exiting another side of his head. The sound of the gunshot alerted the mother to the incident. The woman had told police that she had the gun -- a .32-caliber automatic -- in her possession to protect her family because of recently reported burglaries in the neighborhood.
It is not clear if the boys' father was home at the time, but police said he did go to the hospital.
The mother could face criminal charges of making a weapon available to a child, Grysen said, adding that Child Protective Services would also investigate the family.
CPS spokeswoman Estella Olguin said her agency had never been called to the home prior to Saturday. A CPS caseworker was expected to decide whether to allow the older brother to stay with his parents or place him in custody of family or CPS.
"It all depends on a lot of things, like why mom had a gun in her purse in the first place, and if the gun was registered," Olguin said.
The mother told police that Saturday was the one day that she did not keep her gun secure.
"You got to be real careful with guns around children, and you can't be too careful keeping them secured," Grysen said.
Police are not sure whether the older boy understands the difference between real and toy guns.
"We really can't say with a 4-year-old," Grysen said. "It's very mind-boggling that this happened."
Residents of the modest neighborhood of single-family homes described the children and their parents as a happy family who often take walks with neighbors.
"All parents should be concerned about weapons laying in the home," said Yulanda Jordan, a neighbor. "It makes me feel bad about kids getting into weapons."
Edward Josey, 17, a neighbor who had played with the little boys on occasion, said they were like family.
"They shouldn't be playing with guns," he said, "They're too young."
