Days after a teenage boy accidentally shot himself in the head while playing with an unsecured .22 caliber revolver in a Watertown home, police said they recovered 20 unsecured guns and ammunition from a bedroom after searching the residence.
Days after a teenage boy accidentally shot himself in the head while playing with an unsecured .22 caliber revolver in a Watertown home, police said they recovered 20 unsecured guns and ammunition from a bedroom after searching the residence.
Officers responded to the home on Hadley Street around 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 30, after getting a report of a 14-year-old who had fallen down a set of stairs and was bleeding from his head.
Officers found the teen on the first floor of the home, bleeding heavily from the head. He was conscious but incoherent.
Police said the teen had been home alone before his grandmother came home and called 911.
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He was transported to Waterbury Hospital, where he was listed in critical, but stable condition. He was later transported to Connecticut Children's and has since been released. Police called his recovery remarkable and “miraculous.”
On Saturday evening, police executed the search warrant and found around 23 guns in the home, many of which were unsecured, police said.
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Authorities say four children live in the home: a 2-year-old, an 8-year-old, a 14-year-old and a 15-year-old.
According to court documents, conditions in the home were “deplorable” and “unsafe.” They also say the 14-year-old was on Facetime when he accidently shot himself, joking with the person on the line about playing Russian roulette.
The grandmother, Elizabeth Salcevski, 59, and her partner, 55-year-old Jose Soto-Berrios, both face charges including four counts of risk of injury to a minor, reckless endangerment and criminal negligent storage of a firearm. They are each being held on $200,000 bonds.
Salcevski was not arraigned on Wednesday because she is in the hospital. Police said she suffered a medical episode and will appear in court after she is discharged.
Police said they recovered the 20 unsecured firearms and ammunition from the bedroom belonging to the Salcevski and Soto-Berrios. The guns were legally registered, according to police.
According to court documents, Salcevski told police the guns were only ever out of storage when they were going to the range. She also said her grandson knew proper gun safety because he had "been to the range a zillion times."
The teen's mother, Patricia Milot, 36, has been charged with four counts of risk of injury to a minor. She was held on a $25,000 bond. Police said she allowed her four children to live in a home, knowing there were unsecured guns.
The Watertown Police Department, the Department of Children and Families and the Waterbury States Attorney's Office are investigating the incident.
