According to CNN, the incident happened Tuesday evening at a Houston apartment. The babysitter, later identified by Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez as 19-year-old Caitlyn Smith, found the weapon and began taking photos, deputies said. The gun, which Smith believed wasn't loaded, discharged and struck the child's stomach, CNN reported.

Emergency crews rushed the boy to a nearby hospital in serious condition; however, he "is expected to make a full recovery," Gonzalez tweeted Wednesday night.