An eight-year-old boy accidentally shot his own mum after finding a gun as part of a WWII display at a baseball game.
The child found the handgun in a bag on board a military vehicle he was playing on at the USA Stadium in Millington, Tennessee.
Thinking it was a toy, he aimed it at his mum and pulled the trigger.
Now the mother is fighting for her life and the gun owner is facing charges.
Police in Millington, Tennessee, were treating it as an appalling accident but have decided the gun owner was allegedly negligent in the way they stored the gun.
Fox8 reports Charles McFarland Jr., 76, of Atoka, Tennessee is charged with reckless endangerment.
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The mum and her son were attending the University of Memphis and University of Tennessee at Martin baseball game, along with 2000 other fans who turned out for the annual Babe Howard Baseball Classic.
When officers arrived to the incident, they learned the woman’s young son had been playing in a vintage wartime jeep that was on display as part of a Veterans Appreciation Day at the stadium, when he found a handgun inside.
The child, who thought the gun was a toy, picked it up and fired a shot, striking his mother.
The Millington Police Department found the owner of the unsecured weapon and charged him with reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon.
The game was suspended after the incident.
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Local New Channel 3 was told by Police Chief Mark Dunbar: “The juvenile believed it was a toy gun.
"He picked the gun up, pulled the trigger and accidentally shot his mother.
"It was an accident, pure and simple."
The mother was rushed to the hospital in critical condition, but she is conscious.
Fans were ordered to leave the stadium as it became an active crime scene.
Chief Dunbar told News Channel 3: “Secure your weapons. If you got a weapon, everybody’s got a right to carry if they’ve got a permit.
"But you need to use common sense about securing your weapons.”
The University of Memphis released a statement regarding the shooting saying: “We are saddened by the unfortunate accidental shooting at the baseball game at USA Stadium in Millington.
"The University of Memphis is cooperating fully with authorities in the investigation. Our deepest thoughts are with the family.”
