8-year old Virginia boy shoots himself in foot with father's gun; father flees

An 8-year old boy and his younger brother were left at home in Norfolk, Virginia, by they father, in the care of a neighbor.  That's when the 8-year old got hold of his father's loaded, unsecured gun and unintentionally shot himself in the foot.  The bullet also passed through the floor to the level below, where the neighbor was cooking breakfast for the boys.

Authorities are looking for the father, who is being charged with felony child abuse and neglect, but the man has not been found.

From an article:

A neighbor tells WAVY.com that Holley asked him to make breakfast for the boy and his brother while Holley went to the store. The neighbor agreed and went downstairs to fix food. That's when he heard the gunshot.

"I was in the kitchen at the stove and I heard something," said Paul Williams, who was making food for the boys. "I thought the ceiling had fell, but really what it was, was the bullet coming through the ceiling. Then his little brother came running down the stairs saying 'My brother shot himself in the foot!'"

Williams called 911 and asked the operator what to do. He followed the advice and held a towel on the boy's foot until the ambulance arrived.

"He was hollering, 'Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!' and he thought he was going to die," said Williams. "I tried to calm him down. I said, 'No, it's just a foot wound. You're not going to die, but your foot is going to be sore for a while.'"

Williams says he has not seen Holley since he left for the store.

Police say the handgun involved in the incident belongs to Holley.

Every gun in the hands of a child must first pass through the hands of an adult.