Houston-area teen accused of shooting nephew while taking selfie

HOUSTON — A Houston-area teen was in jail Thursday after she was accused of accidentally shooting her 10-year-old nephew after making a selfie video of herself with a gun for her Instagram account.

Caitlyn Smith, 19, was being held in the Harris County Jail charged with felony injury to a child. Bond has been set at $20,000.

According to an arrest affidavit, Smith told investigators that she was babysitting her nephew Tuesday at her suburban apartment on Houston’s northern fringe. She took a 9-millimeter handgun from a compartment in a couch and shot cellphone video for her Instagram account of herself pointing the gun in different directions, finger on the trigger.

She racked the slide of the gun, ejecting a live bullet on the floor. She said that after completing the video, she was having trouble removing the magazine clip, squeezed the trigger in an effort to loosen the clip, believing the safety was on. Instead, the gun fired, wounding her nephew in the abdomen.

Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez tweeted the child was in serious condition at a Houston hospital and was expected to recover. The public defender representing Smith did not return a message seeking comment.