NC deputy's 5-year-old son shoots self with service gun same week dad loses sheriff bid

A 5-year-old son of a deputy in North Carolina is recovering after he shot himself with his father's service weapon over the weekend.

Anson County Sheriff's office said that the boy found the handgun at around 1:15 on Saturday. One round struck the top of the child's left ear, and he was taken to Levine’s Children’s Hospital in Charlotte.

His father was reportedly at home at the time of the shooting, but he was in another room.

WSOC reported that the deputy, who was identified as Josh Beam, was put on administrative leave. Bream is a 10-year veteran of the department, and lost his bid to be Anson County sheriff in the Democratic primary earlier this month.

"Right now we are trying to determine how the child got the weapon and managed to fire it," Anson County Sheriff Tommy Allen said in a statement. "The deputy is very shaken by this incident to say the least. It appears from the initial medical report that the child will be fine. Our investigation, which will take several days, will determine what actions may be taken regarding the deputy in this matter."

The department was expected to release additional details on Monday.

Watch the video below from WSOC, broadcast May 18, 2014.

[Photo: Facebook/Beam for Sheriff]