A one-year-old girl in Fallbrook, California, was killed in an accidental shooting involving her three-year-old brother on Monday, July 17, according to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department.
After receiving a 911 call at 7:30 am, deputies arrived at the residence and found that the three-year-old boy had gained access to an unsecured handgun and accidentally shot his sister. At this time, it remains unclear whether the parents were present at the time of the incident.
The young girl suffered a severe head injury during the incident and was immediately transported to a local hospital. Despite intensive efforts to save her life, she was pronounced dead at around 8:30 am.
The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department has issued a statement acknowledging the incident and expressing its commitment to fully investigating the circumstances surrounding it.
According to Everytown for Gun Safety, a gun violence prevention organization, this incident is one of 221 reported cases of unintentional shootings by children in the US this year alone. Tragically, these incidents have resulted in 78 deaths and 151 injuries.
In June, an infant was shot in Detroit by his six-year-old brother, and in another incident, a three-year-old accidentally shot himself in Tennessee. In May, a child was killed in Illinois by a four-year-old girl, and another four-year-old girl in Georgia got hold of a gun her father left loaded in their home and shot herself in the head.
