EASTVALE - An 8-year-old boy accidentally shot an Eastvale man in the head, and the victim was arrested for allegedly leaving the handgun where the kid could get it, a sergeant said today.

Sheriff's deputies raced to a home in the 7000 block of Elm Grove Avenue, after receiving a 911 call at 10:10 p.m. Saturday about the shooting. Deputies found the man, identified later as Carlos Serafico, in the kitchen with a non-life threatening wound to the top of his head, Riverside County sheriff's Sgt. Bill Davis said.

They discovered that the Advertisement

[ Carrington Home Loans ] boy had found a loaded 45-caliber semi-automatic in a dresser drawer in the upstairs master bedroom and fired off one round. The gunshot pierced through the floor and ceiling and hit Serafico, who was sitting near a kitchen table, Davis said.

Serafico, 39, was taken to an area hospital for treatment of his injury. Deputies then arrested him for suspicion of negligently making the weapon accessible to a minor, Davis said. Deputies determined Serafico owned the handgun.

Serafico was jailed in lieu of $5,000 bail today. Sheriff's authorities initially identified Serafico by another name.