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Abington Boy Shot In Face In Stable Condition Day After Accident

ABINGTON (CBS) -- A day after an 11-year old was accidentally shot in the face while playing with a friend, investigators were trying to figure out how the two young boys were able to get their hands on the gun.

The boy, who was shot in a home on Linwood Street in Abington Wednesday, remains in stable condition after being airlifted to a hospital in Boston.

Plymouth District Attorney Timothy Cruz said the incident also involved another 11-year-old, but authorities have not yet said which boy they believe pulled the trigger.

Abington Child Shot
A child was shot inside a Linwood Street home in Abington. (WBZ-TV)

The superintendent of Abington schools confirmed both boys are students at Woodsdale Elementary School, where grief counselors were available for students in the wake of the shooting.

"Tonight's news of a Woodsdale student suffering a gunshot wound in their neighborhood afterschool is heartbreaking and sad," wrote Superintendent Peter Schafer in a letter to parents. "Our sincerest thoughts and prayers are with him and his family."

Residents on Linwood Street said no parents were home at the time of the shooting, but said both families are respectable.

"They're a fantastic family, so it's just been a big mistake," one resident told WBZ-TV.

Authorities said the gun was legally owned and the owner is cooperating with the investigation.

Neighbors remain shaken and worried.

"You don't expect anything like that to happen here," said a neighbor.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, 27 people died of accidental gunshot wounds in Massachusetts in 2014, the most recent year available for that research.

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