Bullet wound apparently to head critically injures 4-year-old Cranston child, police say. What we know.

CRANSTON − A 4-year-old boy whose father had shot him fought for survival late Tuesday, according to Cranston police.

The 33-year-old father, Michael A. Jones, told police he accidentally fired a bullet that had traveled through an interior wall and hit his son, apparently in the head, on Tuesday morning, said Cranston's police chief, Col. Michael J. Winquist.

A grandfather of the boy who lives in an apartment in the same house on Queen Street telephoned 911 at 10:12 a.m., which almost immediately brought police and firefighters to the home, he said.

Police investigators later determined that Jones, who was previously convicted of felony assault, had handled a 9mm handgun in a second-floor bedroom, and they recovered the gun during a court-ordered search, he said.

In addition to a new felony assault charge, he said the father faces counts of illegally possessing a firearm after committing a crime of violence and firing in a compact area.

Jones has been on probation since he was convicted on June 1, 2022. His sentence also included a suspended prison term.

“This case is particularly difficult for all involved given the age of the victim," said Winquist.

The shooting "highlights the need to keep firearms out of the hands of prohibited individuals," he said, adding that such events affect police officers and firefighters, many of whom have their own children.

"Our thoughts are with the young boy and his family as he fights for survival,” Winquist said.

"We located the victim, suffering from a gunshot wound to the head," he said.

"Anytime you see a child that's been injured, especially to this degree, it's always a difficult situation," he added.

What witnesses and neighbors said

A man who lives a short distance from the family's home, Troy Place, 24, said he was in bed when he heard a noise that sounded like a pop. On reflection, he said, the noise he heard was a muffled sound and it could have come from inside the neighboring home.

"It made you question whether it was a gunshot to begin with," he said.

Place said he heard crying and other commotion.

Very soon, he said, police were in the neighborhood attending to the situation.

Place said he saw them take a man into custody.

He recognized the man as the father of children he has seen at the home on Queen Street.

Place commented that the child had probably been looking forward to celebrating Halloween.

"Instead," he said, "he's in the ER fighting for his life."

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Boy, 4, in hospital with apparent gunshot wound to head, police say.