Four-Year-Old Accidentally Shoots 6-Year-Old Neighbor, Police Say

Police are investigating a Monday evening shooting at a Toms River residence where a 4-year-old accidentally shot a 6-year-old, according to officials. 

The shooting occurred in the yard of the 4-year-old before 7 p.m., according to Chief of Police Michael Mastronardy, who said that the boy obtained a .22 caliber rifle from inside the residence.

The 6-year-old was flown to Jersey Shore Medical Center in Neptune with a head injury and was in stable condition, the chief said. 

The shooting occurred in the Cedar Grove area of the township, according to Toms River schools Assistant Superintendent James Hauenstein, who received the news during a New Jersey School Boards Association meeting Monday night. 

Authorities were on scene at a McCormick Drive home Monday night and had the yard cordoned off with yellow tape. Toms River police and county vehicles remained on the scene.

Hauenstein said that the victim is a student at Saint Joseph's Grade School. He said that Toms River schools officials will be available to provide counseling services to students at Cedar Grove Elementary and Saint Joseph's. 

Toms River Police Department Detectives Louis Santora and Roger Hull are investigating along with the Ocean County's prosecutor's office and sheriff's department, Mastronardy said.