Toddler gets hold of gun, accidentally shoots himself inside Seattle motel room, police say

SEATTLE -- Witnesses described a frantic scene outside a south Seattle motel after a 2-year-old boy was shot Monday morning.

Seattle Police say the toddler got hold of a loaded handgun and accidentally shot himself.

The boy was listed in critical condition, but police say the boy is expected to survive.

Detectives say the loaded handgun belonged to the mom’s boyfriend, who they say is a felon and not allowed to possess firearms. Police said they plan to pursue a felony firearms-violation charge against the boyfriend.

The couple was staying at the Munson Motel with the child at the time of the shooting.

The mom and the boyfriend rushed the toddler to Harborview Medical Center.

For most of the day, detectives collected evidence from inside the motel room where the shooting occurred.

“I cried. I had to go inside. I just met the kid, my heart went out mostly to him,” Mary Quinlan said.

Quinlan and her husband, Scott Hannah, who are staying next door from the Munson Mote,l said they saw the toddler and his mother Sunday night.

“He was a really cute little boy and she asked me for a cigarette and she went back into the motel,” Quinlan said.

Outside Harborview, police detectives could be seen putting the boyfriend in a patrol car and whisking him away.

“You should always have that kind of stuff (firearms) up high. You know the child that age is curious,” Quinlan said.