Baby boy critically ill after airgun accident

Mon Aug 25, 2008 3:47pm BST

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LONDON (Reuters) - An 18-month-old boy is critically ill in a Birmingham hospital after being accidentally shot in the head with an airgun, West Midlands police said on Monday.

The boy was rushed to Birmingham children's hospital after West Midlands ambulance service was called to an address in the Washwood Heath area of the city on Sunday.

"A strong line of enquiry is that young children, aged under five, somehow managed to access the air weapon and accidentally caused it to go off," said West Midlands police in a statement.

"Police enquiries into the circumstances are continuing but the officer in command stressed that officers were not seeking anyone else in connection with the incident."

Last week a 12-year-old boy in Stoke on Trent died after being shot in the eye with an air rifle pellet.

(Reporting by John Joseph; Editing by Kate Kelland)

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