Child, 3, shot in chin

Boy expected to survive; Adult charged with failure to secure firearm

Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2007

By Marcie Young and Kytja Weir
Charlotte Observer Staff Writers

TAYLORSVILLE – A 3-year-old boy was shot in the chin Monday evening, apparently when an 11-year-old fired a handgun as they played in their backyard just north of Taylorsville, authorities said.

The child is expected to survive his injury from the .22 caliber round.

The 11-year-old's father was charged with failing to secure a firearm, plus several drug charges after deputies searched the home.

The shooting occurred about 5:15 p.m. in a wooded yard of a home on Clearview Lane, according to Alexander County Sheriff Hayden Bentley. That's about 65 miles northwest of uptown Charlotte.

Robert Jesse Miller, 3, was outside with the 11- and 5-year-old children of his mother's live-in boyfriend, the sheriff said. Authorities did not release those children's names.

The boyfriend, Bill Blankenship, 43, had been with the children earlier, authorities said, helping clear a campsite about 75 yards from the house. They also may have been firing rounds for target practice, they said.

But Blankenship went inside for a few minutes, the sheriff said.

When he came outside again Robert had walked about 60 feet toward him, with a gunshot wound to his chin. Blankenship scooped the boy up and got help, Bentley said.

Robert was taken to Catawba Valley Medical Center, then airlifted to Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte where his mother was by his side. He was conscious and listed in fair but stable condition Monday night.

The 11-year-old likely will not be charged because authorities believe the shooting was an accident.

Blankenship, his shirt splattered with blood, declined to comment as he walked to the magistrate's office Monday night to answer the initial gun charge. Later, authorities searched the home looking for additional weapons and found several pounds of marijuana, said Chief Deputy Chris Bowman.

Bowman said late Monday that his office planned to also charge Blankenship with felony possession of marijuana, maintaining a dwelling to keep a controlled substance, possession with intent to sell or distribute and possession of a firearm as a felon.

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