MILWAUKEE -- A 6-year-old boy is recovering after being shot Tuesday night.

Milwaukee police said a 3-year-old girl found a gun inside a home near Teutonia Avenue and Chambers Street and pulled the trigger.

Investigators said the bullet hit the 6-year-old in the stomach.

A 32-year-old man who lives in the house told police he stores a loaded gun behind the stove and that the girl got a hold of it somehow and walked into a room where two 6-year-old boys were playing.

The gun accidentally fired, striking one of the 6-year-olds in the abdomen and bicep, police said.

According to police, the adults in the house fled with the exception of the 32-year-old man, who was arrested on charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm and leaving a loaded firearm within the reach of a child.

Police recovered the weapon -- a .32 caliber semiautomatic.

The mother of the 6-year-old who was shot baby sits for the 3-year-old. She claimed she was out for a walk at the time of the shooting, police said.

The boy was taken to Children's Hospital and was in stable condition Wednesday morning.

Possible criminal charges could be filed but police have not been specific.

Police said they know the boy and girl are not related.

The Bureau of Milwaukee Child Welfare is also investigating.

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett released a statement Wednesday afternoon on the shooting.

"It's despicable. It's sickening. A 6-year-old is lying in a hospital bed right now recovering from a gunshot wound he suffered at the hands of a 3-year-old. Why were these kids unattended at 10 at night? How did they have access to a gun, an illegal gun? We are talking about children here; children who are in very real, very immediate danger because of illegal guns. If this doesn’t compel people to open their eyes to the epidemic of violence caused by illegal guns, I don’t know what will," Barrett said.