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'Put the guns up': 3-year-old in critical condition after shooting himself in Swansea

Police say a 3-year-old boy got a hold of a semi-automatic gun in the apartment and accidentally shot himself in the head.

SWANSEA, Ill. — Another family is in mourning after a child accidentally shot himself. 

This time, it was a three-year-old boy in Swansea, Illinois.

"Put the guns up," Marcus Pryde said.

"The guns should've been locked up," Angella Holloway said.

Pryde and Holloway live down the street from where the boy found a gun and shot himself in the head Monday morning.

"When I came out the house I looked down the street and heard all the sirens, and the police and stuff well something's going on," Pryde said.

"Who leaves a gun out for a 3-year-old, who leaves a gun out for a child, period," Holloway said.

"It was sad to hear about a three year and pick up the gun and shoot himself in the head," Pryde said.

Swansea Police Chief Steve Johnson said they got a disturbance call around 6:30 a.m. Monday at an apartment complex on the 1400 block of North 17th Street. 

It ended up being a mother calling after her 3-year-old son shot himself.

"The mother scooped up the child and frantically called 911 and transported the child to a local hospital," Johnson said.

Gun violence with children is a growing problem across the river. Just this year, 35 children have been shot in St. Louis City and County. Four of them have died.

"We believe that the child obtained a gun at the residence and this is an accidental shooting," Johnson said.

Chief Johnson, Holloway and Pryde hope this child's life is a wake-up call for gun owners.

"We're strong advocates for concealed carry, but it's your responsibility to make sure it's safe and secure from children," Johnson said.

"Lock them up, put the safety lock on them," Holloway said.

"Just have to pray for the family and we have to do better and get more knowledge about these guns if you're going to keep them in your house," Pryde said.

Police said the family had just moved in. The mother is working with investigators.

They have not released her or her son's name. We're told that he is in critical but stable condition.

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