Cameron Calvisi, five, was in a critical but stable condition yesterday after he was accidentally shot in the face by his 12-year-old cousin on Tuesday at a property in Cottonvale.
Speaking to the Brisbane Times yesterday, the boys’ grandfather Tony Calvisi said it was an “unfortunate accident” and a “bad thing that happened”.
“Cameron will be going into surgery this afternoon and until he comes out, we’re going to know nothing,” he said.
“He’s stable and doing well. That’s all they’re telling us. That’s what I’m telling you.
“But until he comes out of surgery I won’t know anything more because I’m here and he’s down in Brisbane.”
Cameron’s father rushed him to Stanthorpe Hospital on the afternoon of January 2 and he was then flown to Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital in Brisbane at 6pm.
Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS) could not confirm where exactly the five-year-old was shot but said he was in a stable condition on arrival.
While details surrounding the shooting are still unclear, a spokesman for Queensland Police said they believed it was a tragic accident.
The boy’s cousin is expected to still be interviewed by police. Nine Newsunderstands a third boy was in the room and saw the shooting.
From the family’s home in Cottonvale, Mr Calvisi told the Courier Mail the children were forbidden from touching guns — but somehow found the .22 calibre rifle.
“They were playing with something they were always told never to touch, and I don’t know why,” he said.
“(The gun) was in a place where they shouldn’t have got to it. But children, they find things.”
The January 2 shooting occurred at a property on Granite Belt Drive at Cottonvale, a town 2.5 hours south of Brisbane and on the border of New South Wales.