Boy, 7, Mistaken for Intruder, Shot by Grandma

Grandmother not arrested, boy in critical condition
By Shelley Hazen,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 19, 2014 8:25 AM CDT
Boy, 7, Mistaken for Intruder, Shot by Grandma
   (Shutterstock)

A Tampa grandmother allegedly fired a .22 caliber pistol into the dark this morning, shooting not the intruder she feared but her 7-year-old grandson, the Tampa Bay Times reports. The boy, Tyler Maddox, is now in critical but stable condition in the hospital. Hillsborough County deputies say Linda Maddox, 63, was watching Tyler and his twin brother while their father was at work, WESH reports. After the father left, Maddox wedged a chair against the bedroom door as a device to catch intruders; grandmother and grandsons then all fell asleep in the same bed.

About 1am, Maddox heard the chair move. She told police she grabbed the gun, pointed it at the door in the dark, and shot. Then Tyler started to scream—the bullet had hit him in his upper body. Maddox hasn't been arrested or charged, but an investigation continues. (A deputy in Virginia also recently shot his daughter after mistaking her for an intruder.)

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