Deputies search for answers after child hit by bullet while on playground

BRUNSWICK COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — A 6-year-old boy was struck in his jaw by a bullet while playing on a school playground in Leland on Friday.

On Monday, the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office spent the day canvassing the area in search for answers.

It happened around 2 p.m. on Friday when the young boy was out for recess at Lincoln Elementary School. It wasn’t immediately clear what had happened.

A Brunswick County Schools spokesman says they originally believed the child fell and didn’t realize the bullet hit him until he was treated at the emergency room.

The school backs up at a woodsy area and the sheriff’s office believe it was an accident, likely someone shooting on private property which is legal in this unincorporated area of the county.

“While the incident does appear to be accidental in nature, and detectives believe there to be no malicious intent, it was certainly negligent and avoidable,” BCSO wrote on social media. “It is vitally important to educate gun owners on the importance of being aware of the distance between where they are shooting, and people and property. It is critical that they pay close attention to what is beyond their target, even at a great distance away.”

Sheriff’s deputies canvassed the area, asking neighbors if they had heard any shots.

“It’s kind of like finding a needle in a haystack, but Sheriff Ingram and his team, that’s what they do, they find needles,” BCSO Spokeswoman Emily Flax said. “So we’re not going to leave any stone unturned. We know that understandably this community and the school are very very concerned as they should be and as are we.”

Flax says if the person responsible is found, they will likely not face any criminal charges, because it is not illegal to shoot on private property in the unincorporated areas of Brunswick County. There is no restriction based on proximity to a school.

Some parents shared concerns that the school was not evacuated and the student was not rushed to the hospital. A spokesman for the Brunswick County Schools says staff believed the child had just fallen and did not realize he had been hit by a bullet. They followed procedure by calling his parents while he was treated by the school nurse. It was not until his parents took him to the emergency room that the bullet was found and extracted.

WWAY heard from the boy’s aunt that he is doing better.