Police: 9-month-old boy shot during gun cleaning

KOKOMO, Ind. - Authorities say a 9-month-old boy was shot in the head while his father said he was cleaning a handgun inside their central Indiana home.

The Howard County Sheriff's Department says the boy was in critical condition when he was flown to Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis following Wednesday's shooting.

The department says 31-year-old John Hambaugh told investigators he was sitting in the kitchen of an apartment near Kokomo working to clean his gun when it fired. The bullet went through Hambaugh's thigh and hit the child.

Neighbor Dawn Crecelius tells WTHR-TV that the boy's mother came outside, screaming and cradling the wounded boy.

Sheriff's Capt. Greg Hargrove says Hambaugh was taken to a Kokomo hospital for treatment. He says the shooting remains under investigation.