Northwest Fresno Police responded to the neighborhood of Bullard/Cornelia Avenues at 7:48 am, (2/13/2015).
Officers arrived to find an 8 year old girl with one gunshot wound to her lower chest.
Fresno police say the ten year old daughter had grabbed the handgun of her father — a Madera County Sheriff's Deputy — and accidentally fired at her younger sister.
The 8 year old was rushed to Community Regional Medical Center for surgery. She was stable, awake and talking to family members by 3:30 Friday afternoon.
Madera Sheriff Jay Varney held a press conference on Friday to answer questions, saying this case will be treated as an "officer involved shooting."
"At this point, the Fresno PD will conduct the investigation into whether any criminal charges will be coming forward, and once they have completed that then the Madera Sheriff's Office will conduct an administrative investigation into whether any policies were broken." – Madera Sheriff Jay Varney
Sheriff Varney said the firearm was not left out for an extended time – which would have been a policy violation.
He said the lieutenant is not on leave but will be allowed time off for the healing of his family.
