A 7-year-old boy was medically evacuated from Saipan to Guam after he was shot in the face by another child in Kagman on Saipan.

CNMI police say it happened on Sunday, May 21, and a preliminary investigation revealed that the two minors were playing in a relative's home when one of them found a registered firearm and accidentally fired the weapon. 

Local authorities say the child is in stable condition at a Guam hospital and is expected to recover. 

CNMI police chief Clement Bermudes commented on the matter Monday morning when questioned by the media. He says it remains under investigation. "We are working with GPD because the victim is on Guam. So we are coordinating all investigations and also will release more once we do some confirmation so that again as part of transparency and the public needs to know what is happening in our department," he said. 

The police chief did not confirm if the firearm belonged to a law enforcement officer. He said, "I heard those rumors. Let's control the rumor until we confirm things. Because there was another person that had a registered firearm and the firearm was there, too."