State police say boy shot himself by accident

MEXICO – A 9-year-old found a gun in his grandfather’s house and accidentally shot himself in the chest, leaving him in critical condition in a Portland hospital, state police said.

Tyler Richard, who lives in Rumford but was staying at his grandparents’ home in Mexico, was expected to live despite the wound he suffered Tuesday.

Tyler’s grandfather, Charles Martin, left the boy alone in the house Tuesday morning and he apparently found a .38-caliber revolver hidden in a hutch, spokesman Stephen McCausland of the state Public Safety Department said.

A passing motorist saw the injured boy in the road and drove him to Rumford Hospital.

Tyler was then flown by LifeFlight helicopter to Maine Medical Center in Portland, where he underwent surgery.

State police said they planned no charges at this point, but were turning information from their investigation over to the Oxford County district attorney for review.