4-year-old finds handgun in family car, shoots himself

A 4-year-old boy from La Plata, Maryland was playing outside his home. His grandmother was watching him. According to the police report:

The grandmother reported that the boy got into a car which was parked in the driveway and suddenly she heard a gunshot. The child ran to her and she noticed he had an injury to his head.

The child was flown to a hospital where it was learned he had a graze wound.

A computer check revealed the gun - a 9mm semi-automatic handgun - is registered to a member of the child's family. At this point, it is not clear why the gun was in the car and the investigation is continuing.

It should be noted that Maryland is one of the few states that requires registration of handguns. In the majority of states the police would not have been able to run a computer check on the gun to determine ownership.