VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — 72-year-old Richard Bauserman, the grandfather of a 5-year-old boy who shot himself in Virginia Beach, has been charged with felony child neglect and found guilty.
On Nov. 17, detectives responded to a call reporting a walk-in gunshot victim at Sentara Leigh Hospital shortly before 6:30 p.m. When detectives arrived they found a 5-year-old boy suffering from a gunshot wound in his hip.
Detectives then took the boy to the Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters (CHKD) while officers responded to the house where the boy was shot.
Virginia Beach police were granted access to the house in the 5600 block of Larry Avenue where the incident happened. They found blood on the ottoman and a bullet hole in the back door of the home.
Officials determined that the boy shot himself in the hip after getting details from Bauserman and the boy's father. Police say the boy's father handed Bauserman the gun while he went to get a holster for Bauserman to wear. Bauserman checked to see if the gun was loaded, then sat the gun on the sofa next to him.
Police say just seconds later, the boy reached for the gun, and it fired, striking the boy in the hip. Officials say Bauserman and the boy were playing with a tactical flashlight that looked similar to the gun, and that the boy told numerous people after the incident that he thought the gun was the tactical flashlight.
The boy's father rendered aid at the scene then took him to Sentara Leigh Hospital.