A 3-year-old has died after accessing an unsecured gun in a home in Struthers, Ohio.“The worst possible situation happened. The child got a hold of a loaded firearm,” Struthers Police Capt. D.J. Aldish told WFMJ. On August 15, 2025, the child was shot in the head at a home on Spring Street.
Two adults reportedly tried driving him to a hospital but stopped on the corner of South Avenue and Matthews Road in Boardman, when the boy had trouble breathing.
“They were obviously on their way to the hospital. I don’t know, we don’t know why they pulled over there and stopped there, and that’s where they stopped and continuously called 911, I believe,” Alidish said, per WKBN. “And several people called 911 from there, and several people were calling 911 from here.”
Both Struthers and Boardman emergency crews responded to the calls that came in around noon. As Boardman Fire Chief Mark Pitzer explained to WKBN, “They were trying to get to Akron Children’s in Boardman, and we believe that the child maybe had stopped breathing near that intersection, which resulted in them pulling into the parking lot.”
First responders reportedly took over and took the boy to St. Elizabeth Health Center in Youngstown.
“Our crews arrived immediately, being right next door, essentially, to the fire station there on South Avenue, you know, began treatment. EMS crews arrived not shortly after our Ladder 74 and arrived on scene, rendered care and transported the child to St. Elizabeth’s,” Pitzer said, according to WKBN.
Sadly, the boy died at roughly 3 p.m., the Mahoning County coroner affirmed. The Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office took over the investigation, and authorities have not shared whether anyone will face charges.
