After mistaking her 7-year-old grandson as a burglar at 1 a.m. Tuesday, a Tampa grandmother shot the boy in the upper body. He is listed in critical, but stable condition.
Linda Maddox was babysitting her grandsons, Tyler Maddox and his twin brother, while their father Reginald Maddox went to work. Ms. Maddox told deputies she had placed a chair against the bedroom door handle for extra protection after putting the twins to bed. When she heard the chair sliding against the floor, she assumed it was an intruder. Ms. Maddox grabbed a loaded .22-caliber revolver she keeps by the bed and fired one shot in the dark toward the door, according to Hillsborough County Sheriff’s deputies. Seconds later, the 63-year-old grandmother heard the cries from her grandson, realizing she shot him.
Tyler was wounded in his upper body and was taken to St. Joseph’s hospital.
Linda Maddox was not arrested and charges haven’t been filed.