A 4-year-old boy was injured after he was shot in the back of the head by his 6-year-old brother Sunday at a Pike County home.
The incident occurred around 10:45 a.m. at the home of Cynthia Nimox in the 3000 block of Gradyville Road.
Sheriff’s deputies responded to the emergency room at Southwest Mississippi Regional Medical Center, where Nimox had brought her son for treatment.
The 27-year-old mother initially told authorities that her child was the victim of a drive-by shooting, Chief Investigator Lance Falvey said.
However, deputies eventually discovered Nimox’s claim to be unfounded and soon learned that her 6-year-old son was in fact the shooter.
Falvey said the 6-year-old boy obtained a .22-caliber firearm in the home and accidentally discharged it, causing a bullet to ricochet and strike his brother.
Nimox then took her injured child by private vehicle to the emergency room, where authorities say she gave the false report, Falvey said.
“She was concerned that the police might take her children from her,” he said. “Deputies began investigating and noticed some inconsistencies in her story. When they confronted her with the facts, she came out with it.”
Deputies notified officials with the Mississippi Department of Human Services. Falvey would not say whether DHS officials took custody of the children.
An 18-year-old relative of Nimox’s was reportedly asleep in a bedroom during the time of the shooting but claimed he knew nothing of the incident, Falvey said.
Investigators are still attempting to locate the firearm used in the shooting, an
