Owner Of Gun Used In Accidental Shooting Charged

Investigators said Kacey Hoggard was shot accidentally Monday evening while a 12-year-old neighbor was showing him a gun.

Police charged the 12-year-old's father, Robert Bobbitt Jr., with storing a firearm accessible to a minor.

Investigators said the boys were playing together inside the Bobbitt's home on Pelham Street when the shooting happened. No adults were in the home at the time.

"One kid went to a gun cabinet and got a rifle, a .22-caliber rifle, and the rifle discharged," Rocky Mount police Sgt. Carl Revas said.

The bullet went through Hoggard's hand and into his stomach. The boys ran next door to get help from Hoggard's stepfather, Rocky Mount police Officer Jeramiah Weston.

"He said he'd been shot, " Weston said. "I thought he was messing around. His friend was kind of upset and yelling and screaming that he didn't mean to do it. It was an accident."

Hoggard was rushed to Pitt Memorial Hospital for emergency surgery.

Under state law, if an adult has a child living in his or her home, and that child gets to an unsecured and loaded weapon, the adult can be charged with a misdemeanor.

"There is a statute that says your gun has to be secured inside your home where a minor can't get to it or use it," Revas said.

Weston said he knew the 12-year-old's parents had guns.

"We knew they were into hunting and stuff," Weston said. "But we didn't know if they were accessible to the children or not."

Hoggard was in fair condition Wednesday morning. Doctors said he will be in the hospital for at least two weeks and he is expected to make a full recovery.