Plymouth Boy Killed After Finding Loaded Gun With Hoverboard

PLYMOUTH, MN — A 7-year-old boy died Wednesday after finding a loaded, unsecured gun in his Plymouth home. Keyaris Samuels found the handgun stored in a box containing a new hoverboard and accidentally shot himself, according to investigators.

"I’m incredibly angry about the irresponsible behavior of this gun owner," the city's police chief Mike Goldstein said at a press conference Thursday.

Goldstein said he will seek to bring charges against the weapon's owner, who has yet to be determined.

The boy's single mother said she was not aware there was a gun in the house and told police it wasn't hers. Goldstein said the gun should have been unloaded and stored in a locked box far away from where children could get to it.

Just after 3 p.m. Wednesday officers were dispatched to the 6000 block of Shenandoah Lane on a report of a boy bleeding from the head. While responding police learned the boy had been shot.

Emergency crews arrived and started CPR, but the 7-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene.

There were no adults home when the shooting occurred, according to police. After coming home from school, Samuels and three other children were playing together when the gun was found.

Samuels was a first grader and attended school in Wayzata.

The incident is still under investigation.

Image via Shutterstock / Thitiwat Chirayutwibul