A child was airlifted to Jackson after being shot at a residence in Brookhaven Monday, police said.

Brookhaven Police Chief Kenneth Collins said 20-year-old Taruis Maurice McNair Jr., of Starkville, was arrested and charged with aggravated assault after officers found a 10-year-old child had suffered a gunshot wound at a home on Henry Myers Street, between East Monticello and East Cherokee streets.

Collins said the child was taken by personal vehicle to the hospital before he was airlifted to Jackson. The condition of the child was unknown Monday night.

“The guy was playing with the gun and the gun went off. It shot the 10-year-old in the head,” he said.

Collins said there were several people in the yard at the time of the shooting.

“He was playing in the car with a handgun that he had stolen the night before,” he said.

Police have not recovered the gun, Collins said.

Collins said items reported stolen in four separate auto burglaries were found during the course of the investigation, and McNair was also charged with four counts of auto burglary. Additional charges may be pending, he said.