ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — Crime prevention advocates weighed in on the shooting in North St. Louis County that sent a 3-year-old to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries Friday.
St. Louis County police found a little girl just after 8 a.m. with a gunshot wound inside an apartment complex in the 2500 block of Harriet Walk. She was taken to an area hospital for treatment.
Officials with the department said the shooting "appeared to be accidental."
"My heart goes to my stomach," said St. Louis City Alderwoman Pam Boyd.
Friday’s shooting was the third child-related incident in St. Louis County.
Boyd told 5 On Your Side that was the feeling got every time she heard about a child falling victim to guns in St. Louis.
"It can't be ok to continuously have our children being shot. It can't be ok," she said.
Boyd has worked with organizations to promote the message "Lock It for Love" to get the message out to gun owners to lock up their firearms. Dozens of children in the City of St. Louis have been involved in accidental and violent incidents with guns this year.
"Why do we feel like we have to have a gun lying around with minors in our house. Is that bad where we can't live in our homes anymore?” she asked.
There is also an intervention program at Children's Hospital, Victims of Violence, which works to stop the trauma that's bound to affect a child.
"The idea is that soon as a victim comes through a victim comes through the ER, in this case, children, we try to offer services to that child and to that child's family immediately," said Warren Hayden, a consultant.
The program provides families access to resources in the hospital, in homes, and at schools to foster mental health services and support a victim's physical recovery.
Hayden made clear the effort is not intended to be just a bandage.
"If we can get children to be involved in our program for six to 12 months, we have about a 96% recidivism reduction rate," he said.
Both crime prevention advocates said it would take for parents and the rest of the community to step up by seeking help.
"It certainly gives us a little bit of a chance of serving that child," Hayden said.
It is unclear what led to the shooting of the 3-year-old girl.
If anyone has information that can help, they are asked to call CrimeStoppers at 866-371-TIPS.