NORFOLK, Va. — New details are coming to light about a 2-year-old boy who died after he was shot in the head in Portsmouth last week.
Police originally released little information on the shooting investigation, but a search warrant obtained by us detailed the responding detectives’ experience when they were called to the scene.
According to the search warrant, police received a 911 call about a 2-year-old who had been shot in the head around 9:40 p.m. on August 10 in the 2800 block of Deep Creek Boulevard.
Detectives went to the back door when they responded and were met by Al McNeil, one of the adults in the home at the time.
McNeil allegedly made conflicting statements to police, according to the report. He told investigators the boy was inside and that he must have bumped the chair where a 9mm Smith & Wesson pistol was resting, making it go off.
The warrant states McNeil then later claimed the boy bumped into him, and the gun went off when it hit the floor.
The gun was found and collected by police to make the scene safe for medics to enter. After confiscating the gun, detectives applied pressure to the boy’s wound until medics arrived and took the boy to the hospital.
The warrant said police then searched the rest of the home and found a bullet hole in the front door.
Nobody else who was in the home at the time was hurt.
Police said the circumstances of how exactly the gun went off were unknown and remained under investigation.
McNeil is charged with second-degree murder.
