7-year-old boy shot in the head in Aurora

AURORA, Colo. - A 7-year-old boy who was shot in the head in what appears to be an accidentalshooting involving other juveniles on Thursday afternoon is now out of surgery and in criticalcondition, police say.

Aurora Police tell 7NEWS the shooting happened in the Hoffman Heights neighborhood at around3:30 p.m. Thursday.

Detectives from the Crimes Against Children Unit and Crime Scene Investigators showed up at thescene of the incident and have since taken over the investigation.

Detectives are interviewing several juveniles to determine how exactly the child took possession ofthe gun. They're also waiting on a search warrant so they can search the home and gather crucialevidence in this case. Officers with the APD said a total of six children were inside the home. Theyalso said no adults were inside at the time of the shooting.

APD also says the children inside the home at the time of the shooting are between 7-12 years ofage.

A neighbor 7NEWS spoke with and who did not want to be identified said the child may have beentrying to show off.

A woman who knows the victim in this Central Aurora shooting says a child was showing of his dad'sgun to friends when a 7-year-old was shot

-- Mark Boyle (@newsmanmark) July 9, 2015

"My dad has a gun - I bet you - my dad has a gun'... No one believed him [the 7-year-old] and I guesshe came and he's like, 'well, yeah I got a gun' - they were playing around with it and... someoneended up getting hurt."

Preliminary information gathered by investigators suggests the shooting appears to be accidental innature.

"This is a tragic reminder that parents should have due diligence to make sure that firearms areproperly secured and out of the reach of children," Sergeant Chris Amsler, of the Aurora PoliceDepartment, said.

The 7-year-old has not been identified.

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/front-range/aurora/7-year-old-shot-in-aurora-on-1000-block-of-north-vaughn-street