A second person has been charged after a child was found injured by a shotgun blast in a northwest London home last month, court records show.
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Officers went to a home in the Whitehills neighbourhood, northwest of Sarnia and Wonderland roads, at about 4 p.m. Feb. 15 after getting a tip that a child had been shot earlier in the day, London police have said.
Officers found evidence of gunfire and a seven-year-old child was taken to hospital with serious injuries, police said. Investigators seized a handgun, shotgun, imitation firearm, starter pistol and ammunition.
A London man, 44, was charged with failing to provide the necessaries of life, carelessly storing a firearm and three counts of possessing a firearm contrary to a probation order, police said.
A London woman, 34, was charged recently with failing to provide the necessaries of life, obstructing justice and three counts of carelessly storing a firearm, court records show. The weapon counts relate to a handgun and the obstruction charge alleged an attempt to conceal evidence, the documents say.
The man also has been charged with discharging a firearm for allegedly firing a shotgun at the child, the documents say.
The child was shot in the foot and spent five days in hospital before being released, a relative told The London Free Press.
A court-imposed publication ban prohibits publishing of any information that could identify the child.
The man appeared in court on Monday and was remanded in custody until his next appearance March 17.
The woman was released on an undertaking, a document created by either a court or police that puts a charged person under certain conditions, pending an April 1 court appearance.
Last month’s shooting – London’s third this year – drew a large police response including tactical officers to the area for what police initially termed a weapons call.
One nearby resident, who asked not to be identified, said their home surveillance system recorded between 10 and 12 gunshots at about 11:15 a.m. on Saturday Feb. 15 – nearly five hours before police arrived – and also picked up “what sounds like a young voice crying for help.”
There were 14 cases of gunfire in London in 2024, down from an all-time high of 28 the year before.