Authorities in Northwest Missouri said that a 5-year-old boy accidentally shot and killed his baby brother when he found and began playing with a loaded handgun.
The Kansas City Star noted that the mother of the children called police to report the shooting shortly before 9 a.m. Monday morning.
The 9-month-old was hit while playing in his playpen and rushed to a local hospital, but was pronounced dead just after 12 p.m.
The woman initially told investigators that the boy had shot his sibling with a paintball gun. However, they determined that the infant was actually shot with a .22 caliber handgun found in the home.
This is another tragic story where a child was able to get their hands on a loaded gun that was not locked up.
Gun safety expert Don Pind told FOX 4 that there is no excuse for a child to have access to a firearm. He added that there are plenty of cheap options to keep them out of the reach of small children.
“But the parents need to keep them away from it; lock them up, whether it be in a gun sock… padlocks are available free from the police and sheriffs’ offices,” he said.