Boy shot while playing in yard recovering

A 7-year-old boy who was shot in the back Sunday afternoon is out of surgery and stable, but authorities do not yet know what lasting effects the wound will have.

"He came out of surgery and everything is going well," said Colerain Township Public Information Officer James Love. "He's strong and (there is) no more question of his life being in danger, but I don't know the extent of recovery (needed)."

The boy was accidentally shot in the left shoulder while a group of kids were playing with a gun in his grandparents' backyard, Love said. The incident occurred on the 2500 block of Impala Drive at about 1:15 p.m.

The boy was transported to Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, where he remains.

"We're hoping the 7-year-old's not going to have shoulder problems the rest of his life," Love said.

The gun itself was found behind the home, Love said. Police are investigating how the gun got back there and are working to identify the gun's owner.

"The big question on the table is where'd this gun come from and that's what our investigators will be trying to determine," Love said. "Who's was it, where's it come from, how'd it get there?"

Police say the victim's brother was in the backyard when in the shooting took place, but Love said prosecutors will determine who actually fired the shot and what action will be taken against that child.

Terri Cutter, who lives next door to the home where the child was shot, said she heard a gunshot and then a child screaming.

Cutter said she was worried because her 7-year-old daughter was also outside playing at the time, but wasn't in the backyard where the shooting occurred.