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Police: Boy Recovering After Accidentally Shooting Himself In Germantown

By Tim Jimenez

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - An eight-year-old is recovering after police say he accidentally shot himself in the foot Wednesday in the Germantown section of Philadelphia.

Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey says is was injured in the incident:

"Bottom line is he's alive but it is very troubling."

It was a little before 5 p.m. in the area of Chelten Avenue and Ardleigh Street in Germantown. The boy tells police he found a gun while walking in the park and when he picked it up, it fired, with the bullet hitting his foot.

Commissioner Ramsey says there may be more to how the boy got the gun:

"We don't know what exactly happened in terms of, he claims he found a gun or what have you, I mean I'm 65 years old, I never found a gun just laying around so I don't know how true that is."

The boy was taken to Einstein Hospital in stable condition.

Ramsey says he's seen similar cases too many times where a kid somehow gets their hands on a gun, but fortunately here, he says, the consequences were not fatal.

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