Police say that a five-year-old boy accidentally shot and killed his 16-month-old brother inside an apartment in Indiana.
On Tuesday, March 28, around 3 p.m. local time, a person called 911 to say that someone had been shot in an apartment building in Lafayette, Indiana.
The police said that a five-year-old got hold of the loaded and unlocked gun inside the apartment and shot the 16-month-old boy, killing him instantly.
When police arrived, they found the baby dead in the apartment with a gunshot wound.
The victim was identified as Isiah Johnson by the police.
According to multiple news reports, police were called by someone outside the apartment, who told dispatchers that a shooting had just occurred and that a child was unresponsive and not breathing.
Responding officers pronounced the infant dead at the scene.
Speaking to a local news outlet, Lafayette Police Lieutenant Matt Gard said that there were one adult and two children inside the house at the time of the tragic shooting. Officer Gard also told the news outlet that he didn’t think anyone tried to save the child’s life at the scene.
After an autopsy was done on Wednesday, Carrie Costello, the County Coroner, said that the baby’s death was caused by one gunshot wound.
Authorities haven’t said yet if anyone will be charged in the shooting death of the child. An investigation is underway.
In America, it’s shocking how many kids are dying from gunshots, especially from other kids. Everytown For Gun Safety says that at least 63 accidental shootings by kids have killed at least 25 people and hurt at least 39 people across the US this year.