DENVER — A 3-year-old girl was shot and critically wounded by a 5-year-old boy on Monday with a handgun belonging to her mother's boyfriend. Pueblo police said that a 9-year-old was playing with a gun in the backyard of a home when he gave the firearm to the 5-year-old, who pointed it at the girl and fired, striking her once.

The girl was flown to a hospital, where she was in critical but stable condition after surgery. "When the 9-year-old was asked how he was able to manipulate the handgun, he said he learned it from video games like Black Ops," police said in a statement. The boys who handled the gun will not face charges because of their age, police said, but they would investigate how the older boy got the weapon.

The girl's mother was at the home when the shooting took place. Her boyfriend, Adrian Chavez, 22, fled and was apprehended hours later. Chavez will be charged with child abuse resulting in serious bodily injury for the gun that was left unattended, police said.

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— Reuters