Infant fatally shot in Elmo

The Nodaway County Sheriff’s Department and Missouri State Highway Patrol are investigating the shooting death of a 9-month-old infant that occurred Monday morning in an Elmo residence.

Sheriff Darren White said the child was shot in the head with a .22-caliber Magnum pistol shortly before 9 a.m. by a 5-year-old boy identified as the infant’s brother.

White said the infant, who was flown by helicopter to Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, was pronounced dead at 11:55 a.m.

The shooting is being investigated as an accident.

When the call first came in, authorities were told the child had been shot with a paintball gun. On arrival, however, first-responders determined the wound had in fact been inflicted by a firearm.

At the time of the shooting, White said, the infant was inside a playpen in a bedroom at the Scott Street home of family member Bill Porter, who the sheriff said owned the gun. Porter was not home at the time of the incident.

White said the 5-year-old reportedly found the gun laying on, in or near the headboard of a bed, and that two other children, a total of four, were inside the residence when the shooting occurred.

White said the children’s mother, Alexis Wiederholt, was also inside the house, where she was doing laundry.

Authorities said Nodaway County Prosecuting Attorney Robert Rice has been informed of the shooting and will review the results of the ongoing investigation before deciding whether or not to file charges.

“This case is under investigation by the Nodaway County Sheriff’s Office, and at this point foul play is not suspected,” White said. “It appears at this time that the shooting was accidental.

Sheriff’s personnel and state troopers were assisted at the scene by first responders from the Nodaway County Ambulance District, the Clearmont Fire Protection District and the LifeNet air ambulance service.