A boy under the age of 5 shot and killed himself inside his family’s home in Kansas City, a tragic new report claims.
Police were called to the family’s home on early Sunday morning for a report that the child had shot himself, the Mirror reported. The boy was rushed to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead. It was reported that he had shot himself in the face.
Though there were not yet details on the boy’s name or exact age, police said he was under the age of 5. The report noted that the boy was home with his father, who called police after the shooting. The exact circumstances of the shooting were not yet reported.
The tragic death took place just one day after a 4-year-old accidentally shot and killed himself in Indiana. As the Chicago Tribune reported, the shooting took place inside the home of a babysitter in the unincorporated Crown Point. The boy, Eric Cole, was pronounced dead just after 12 p.m. on Saturday.
The report noted that the boy found a handgun in a case under a bed in an upstairs bedroom and took it out.
The gun discharged as the boy was playing with it, authorities said.
“The boy was able to open the case and handled the firearm, at which time the handgun fired a single round, fatally striking the boy,” Mark Back, public information officer for the Lake County Sheriff’s Department., said in a press release.
Police believe the 4-year-old’s shooting death was accidental and do not expect to file charges.
In another shooting this weekend, a 15-year-old boy was killed in New York while playing with a gun. The boy was with a group of friends when the gun discharged, reports noted.
There are still many unanswered questions about the death of the young boy in Kansas City, including how he came across the gun and whether the father reportedly knew that the boy might have access to it. The reports also did not what type or caliber of gun was involved in the shooting.
KCMO Police: Child fatally shoots himself https://t.co/JbbBcHwT2c pic.twitter.com/CCx0ObN5iL
— KMBC (@kmbc) August 6, 2017
Police in Kansas City are continuing to investigate the young boy’s shooting, KMBC reported. They have not yet said if anyone could face charges for his death.
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