WINTER HAVEN, Fla – A Winter Haven woman is accused of child neglect after a 6-year-old boy shot himself in the right leg with a handgun, according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies began investigating June 5 after the child was taken to Winter Haven Hospital with a gunshot wound, the report said. The incident happened at a home on Bishop James Cochran Way.
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According to the report, Nicole Felippe was the only adult at home with the child when she heard a popping sound after getting out of the shower. Felippe told investigators she ran out, saw blood and took the child to the hospital.
The child’s father told deputies he was out running errands when Felippe called and said something happened, the report said. He told investigators he returned home and saw blood spattered inside the residence and a small black handgun on the floor that he did not recognize, according to the report. He said he picked it up and put it on a shelf before taking the child to the hospital with Felippe.
Neither adult called 911 or law enforcement before taking the child to the hospital, the report said.
Hospital staff told deputies the child suffered a tibia fracture and that it appeared the bullet entered through the thigh and exited through the shin, according to the report.
Investigators said Felippe refused to allow deputies into the home to collect evidence, and a judge later signed a search warrant.
During the search, deputies said they found what appeared to be cannabis, a scale and a glass pipe in plain view in a bedroom they said belonged to Felippe. A field test showed a presumptive positive for THC, the report said.
Felippe was accused of neglect of a child with great bodily harm, as well as cannabis possession and possession or use of drug paraphernalia, according to the report.