Authorities say a 5-year-old girl was accidentally shot in the head early Thursday morning while a felon was playing with a gun at a Pine Bluff residence.
The shooting appeared accidental, police said, but the suspected shooter — 26-year-old Sirtravis Franklin — was arrested a short time later on charges of felon in possession of a firearm and second-degree battery.
Sgt. David E. De Foor, a spokesman for the Pine Bluff Police Department, said the girl's injuries were initially not believed to be life-threatening. He cautioned, however, that he had not received a condition update since she was transferred that morning from a hospital in Pine Bluff to Arkansas Children's Hospital in Little Rock.
The shooting happened shortly after 3:30 a.m. while "Franklin and another male were playing with a pistol" at 508 E. 28th St., police said in a news release.
Emergency responders were called, but Franklin fled before they arrived, the release said. He was arrested some hours later and remained in the Jefferson County jail Friday morning with bail not yet set.
De Foor said Franklin was arrested despite the shooting being unintentional both because he is barred from having a firearm as a felon and because of his recklessness.
"It appeared to be accidental, but he wasn’t supposed to have the gun in the first place," De Foor said. "And his reckless actions add to it."
See Saturday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.