A 3-year-old boy from Manchester, Tennessee was left in critical condition over the weekend after being shot while handling a small gun that an adult left sitting on a nearby counter-top.

Police told NBC affiliate WSMV-TV in Nashville that the child’s aunt set her .380 handgun down to tend to her son and simply forgot it, leaving the bathroom while the toddler sat on the floor and his older sister filled a tub for him.

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When the kid reached for the gun and pulled it out, police reportedly said that the older sister did not recognize he had his aunt’s gun and thought it was a toy. Then it went off, sending a round through the child’s skull.

After being rushed to a hospital in Nashville, the toddler was listed in stable condition on Sunday, according to The Associated Press.

This video is from WSMV-TV, aired Sunday, March 10, 2013.

WSMV Channel 4

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Photo: Shutterstock.com.