Police in Detroit have said that a four-year-old girl accidentally shot her four-year-old cousin to death on Thursday.
According to the Associated Press, the girl shot her cousin with a loaded rifle she found under a bed at their grandfather’s west side Detroit home.
USA Today has reported that Police Capt. Rodney Cox called the shooting a "tragic, tragic accident," that was avoidable.
Authorities said that when the girl found the gun she pointed it at her male cousin and pulled the trigger. One single shot was fired and hit the boy in the chest.
He was taken to an area hospital and pronounced dead upon arrival.
The grandfather was in the home at the time of the shooting, authorites said.
Police point out that the young children were only playing and the shooting was obviously not intentional. The weapon should have been locked up.
"This is an example of how we must maintain gun safety," Cox said