A mother has been arrested after her 2-year-old son was wounded in an accidental shooting Monday night in North Philadelphia, authorities said.
The toddler was shot in the shoulder and is being treated for nonlife-threatening injuries at Temple University Hospital, according to the PPD.
Officers began investigating after the boy was brought to the medical center just before 8:15 p.m., police said. Detectives determined he had been shot by another child inside a home on the 2000 block of N. 21st Street, according to authorities.
Regine Prentice, 30, is being charged with endangering the welfare of a child and related offenses, according to police. Her legal counsel could not be identified through court records Tuesday.
Law enforcement recovered a gun and one .380 caliber spent shell casing at the scene, officials said.
So far in 2025, there have been 116 unintentional shootings involving children across the country, including four prior incidents in Philadelphia, according to data from Everytown for Gun Safety, a nonprofit that advocates for gun control and safety.
Health experts advise families to secure their weapons and check in with the parents when their child goes to a friend’s house. The best practice is to store guns and ammunition in separate safes, Scott Charles, trauma outreach manager at Temple University Hospital, told Metro in an interview last year.
