Toddler Shot After Children Played With Gun

A toddler was taken to the hospital after being shot while other children played with a gun, Washington, D.C. police said Saturday.

Police spokesman Hugh Carew told The Washington Post that the shooting happened inside an apartment building on Pomeroy Road in Southeast Washington. Police said the gun was fired when "juveniles" were playing with the gun. The ages of the children were not released.

NBC Washington reports that police were called to the scene after 3 p.m. Saturday afternoon.

A police captain told the station that the girl suffered a "non-life threatening wound" to the leg.

Police have not released further information on the incident, including who owned the gun involved.

The incident happened just 10 days after an 11-year-old boy was shot in Prince George's County, Maryland, which borders D.C. According to the Washington Post, in that case, the boy was in a neighbor's home when the neighbor's handgun accidentally discharged while he was putting it away.

The Washington Post reported in September that someone is shot by an American toddler more than once a week on average.

Everytown, an organization that supports gun safety, reports that there have been at least 271 unintentional shootings by children in the U.S. this year. That's up from 264 shootings in 2016.