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Child shot in Oakley
A child was shot in Oakley. Police would not say more.
OAKLEY, Calif. - An Oakley father accidentally shot his 5-year-old son in the chest Sunday night when he was cleaning his AR-15-style semi-automatic rifle and pulled the trigger by mistake, police said.
The boy was life-flighted to the hospital and is expected to live, police said in a statement on Monday. The chief called it a "grazing wound."
What we know:
Oakley police investigate after a boy was shot. Evidence markers were visible across the floor of a garage at the home where the shooting occurred. March 29, 2026
Oakley police said they were called out to the home in the 1700 block of Hemlock Court at 9:25 p.m. after someone called 911.
When they got there, they found a father applying pressure to his son's wound, police said.
Father accidentally pulls trigger
The father cooperated with police and told them that he had been cleaning his rifle and accidentally pulled the trigger.
The gun discharged and one of the bullets struck his son "at close range in the torso," police said.
The father thought the rifle was empty, police said.
Police take guns
Oakley police investigate after a boy was shot. Evidence markers were visible across the floor of a garage at the home where the shooting occurred. March 29, 2026
Police searched the home and removed all the guns, though they didn't specify how many were in the house. Police also didn't state what the rifle was used for.
At this time, police said they don't think there was any ill-intent, but they are investigating and will forward their findings to the Contra Costa County District Attorney to make a decision.
Video at the scene captured paramedics placing the boy into an ambulance.
A woman was also seen being escorted to a helicopter by emergency crews. Evidence markers were visible across the floor of a garage at the home where the shooting occurred.
‘Tragic event’
What they're saying:
"This was a very tragic event that occurred," Oakley Police Chief Paul Beard said in a statement, adding that this was a "grazing wound." "Even a graze, however, from a rifle-fired bullet can cause devastating injuries. We are very thankful the injuries sustained by the boy are not worse than they are; an inch of difference of where the bullet struck the boy would have been a different, and more tragic, outcome."
Beard called this an "awful accident," where "some crucial errors of negligence were made."
He added that guns should always be treated as if they are loaded.
By Monday morning, the scene had been cleared.
Neighbor Will McNally told KTVU that the family moved in a few months ago, and he didn't know much else about them.
"They seem like really quiet people," he said.