London: A 3-year-old American boy has accidentally shot his father and pregnant mother in a New Mexico motel room, with a 9 mm handgun that he pulled out of the woman's purse while searching for an iPad.

The bullet passed through his father's buttock, hit his mother, who is eight months pregnant, in the arm, and narrowly missed his 2-year-old sister sitting next to the woman. Both parents are said to be recovering, the BBC reported.

Justin Reynolds said that he and his girlfriend Monique Villescas were about to order a pizza when he heard the shot and the next minute he realised his girlfriend was bleeding. Then he sat down and realised he was shot too.

Reynolds, who called emergency services and tried to staunch Villescas's bleeding with towels, added that he was more worried about his girlfriend than himself and anything else that was going on.

He continued that he was worried about his son too because he didn't know if he had shot himself or not, adding the toddler was shocked and crying, which was traumatising.

Reynolds has been released from hospital and Villescas is in a stable condition, but Albuquerque police said the district attorney's office would decide whether the parents would face negligence charges. The children have been taken into care.

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