No arrests made in case
TRINIDAD — A shooting Monday afternoon in Trinidad left one child severely injured and another uninjured. The shooting happened around noon Monday, Jan. 4 at the Sparks Natural Gas station near the Shell gas station on Goddard Street. When EMS arrived they found a 9-year-old boy in a vehicle in the parking lot with his 8-year-old brother. The 9-year-old had been shot in the head. The victim was taken to Mt. San Rafael Hospital in Trinidad then transported via flight-for-life to Denver Children’s Hospital where he underwent surgery. He is currently listed in critical condition. The Colorado Bureau of Investigation has been called in by Trinidad police to help with the investigation. According to a TPD press release, forensic interviewers who had been called in from the Pueblo Police Department assisted with the interview of the 8-year-old boy. Officers learned the victim had been in a parked vehicle at the Shell station with his 8-year-old brother. The two boys found a loaded gun in the vehicle. While handling the gun, it discharged, striking the 9-year-old in the head. The boys were in the care of a family friend, James Howard, while their parents were at a medical appointment. Howard, 63, of Trinidad, is an employee of the Sparks Natural Gas station and was working on a pump at the time of the accident. No arrests have been made. Once the investigation is complete, it will be reviewed by the Third Judicial District Attorney’s Office to determine what charges, if any, will be pressed.
