A toddler was struck in the head by a stray bullet while playing outside a Utah daycare on Monday.
According to Spanish Fork Police, the young boy was “bleeding from the face” after seemingly falling while playing outside with other children in Leap Ahead Daycare’s “vinyl-fenced area.”
“Initially, we thought he just had tripped and hit his head,” said daycare owner Lane Mugleston, PEOPLE reported.
The child’s parents were informed of the incident and took the child to the hospital.
“It was not until at the hospital that doctors discovered through scans that the child had a small caliber bullet lodged in its head,” police said.
As of Tuesday, the boy was still in the hospital but listed in stable condition and said to be improving.
“The doctors are monitoring him, and they said that his vitals are good and expect a full recovery. So they think that that’s a blessing,” Mugleston told KSLTV.
Officers identified a man shooting birds with a .22 caliber air rifle near the daycare. He is cooperating with authorities while they decide if he will be formally charged.
“We do not believe that this was a targeted incident,” Lt. Cory Slaymaker told KSLTV. “We feel like this was more of an accident, and the person that probably did it doesn’t even know that they did it.”
