A child was transported Sunday to the hospital after suffering an accidental, self-sustained gunshot wound.
According to an email from Ryan Moore, public information officer at Hattiesburg Police Department, officers responded about 3 p.m. Sunday to the Family Dollar store in the 3800 block of West Fourth Street after receiving reports of a shooting. Upon arrival, officers were given information that a child was taken in a personal vehicle to a local hospital with a gunshot wound that occurred in the parking lot.
Officers arrived at the hospital and located the child, who was then transported to a Jackson hospital to be treated for the injury.
Hattiesburg resident Marcus Rankin, 23, who is the father of the child, was arrested and charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He and the child's mother were reportedly inside Family Dollar when the child accidentally fired the gun, causing the injury.
The name and age of the child are not being released.
The investigation is ongoing, and other charges are pending.
