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Warning From Davie Police After Father Accidentally Shoots Daughter

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DAVIE (CBSMiami) – There's a warning from Davie Police after they say a father accidentally shot his 12-year-old daughter while ironically teaching her about gun safety.

Meanwhile, the girl will undergo surgery on Tuesday at Joe Dimaggio Children's Hospital and some of the victim's neighbors are stunned.

"It's crazy," said neighbor Jhoan Ortega. "I don't think you should try to teach someone about gun safety at just 12 years old."

"It's is very sad," said another neighbor Gelu Muscalu.

Muscalu told CBS4's Peter D'Oench, "It is very sad. He is a good neighbor, a very good neighbor."

A spokeswoman at Joe Dimaggio Children's Hospital said the girl's condition was "stable" and said her family did not want to say anything to the media.

A man neighbors identified as the father left his Davie home without speaking to our CBS4 News crew Monday night.

David Police Sgt. and spokesman Pablo Castaneda said the unidentified father accidentally shot his daughter in the left forearm around 7:45 p.m. Sunday at their home at 7791 N.W. 34th St. Castaneda said the father said he was trying to show her how to safely draw a firearm from his pocket.

Police are not identifying that father. He was seen Sunday night in the back of a police car and so far he has not been charged in this case with any crime.

"We explain to people in terms of gun safety that they have to treat their weapon as if it's loaded all the time," said Castaneda. "Even if you're fairly certain it's empty, always verify."

Castaneda told D'Oench, "Always make sure you clear it. Make sure it's empty before you conduct any training session. We encourage people to make sure the magazine of the weapon is ejected and the slide lock is to the rear if it's semi-automatic. If it's a revolver make sure the cylinder is open and the rounds are empty."

"Make sure if your weapon is not on you that it is in a safe," said Castaneda. "Or make sure you are using a gun lock or a trigger mechanism."

Castaneda said the state does not have a minimum age for gun training.

"There's nothing in state law that says you have to be a certain age," he said. "Everyone is different."

Castaneda was asked if he though gun training was safer at a range than at a home.

"I would think it's safer at a range," he said. "But that's my personal opinion."

On Sunday night, neighbor Kara Perez told CBS4's Oralia Ortega, "I thought I heard a gunshot. I thought it was the kids outside playing with fireworks."

She said she and a friend saw the girl walk out of her home, with her arm wrapped up and covered in blood.

"There was blood running down her leg," she said. "She had white shorts on, so you could tell her whole front and side were full of blood."

"She had blood all over her," said Perez's friend Cindy Barnes. "She was hunched over when she was walking out and we saw the Dad there with the police. He seemed really calm."

"It is sad," Barnes told Ortega. "It is really said. I have kids. She has kids. The bullet could have gone through a wall."

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