Chico >> A Chico man was arrested Sunday after the police said he unintentionally fired his rifle, striking a 4-year-old in the leg who was playing in a neighboring yard.

Ronald Cameron, 22, was cleaning his .22-caliber rifle about 5:50 p.m. in the 2600 block of Lobo Way when his finger “brushed up against the trigger causing the rifle to discharge a round into the back fence,” according to a press release issued by the Chico Police Department.

The round struck the child in an adjacent backyard on La Bella Court, according to the release. The child, who was hit in the upper leg, was taken to Enloe Medical Center for treatment.

The child suffered non-life threatening injuries and was later released from the hospital.

Cameron, who police said was not initially aware that his errant round had hit anyone, was arrested on suspicion of negligent discharge of a firearm, according to the release. His rifle was also seized.