A five-year-old boy accidentally shot and killed his 16-month-old brother in a Lafayette, Indiana apartment on Tuesday, March 28.
The police said that the five-year-old obtained a loaded and unlocked gun inside the apartment and shot his brother, who died instantly.
When police arrived, they found the baby dead with a gunshot wound.
They identified the unfortunate toddler as Isiah Johnson.
Police were called by someone outside the apartment, who told dispatchers that a shooting had just occurred and that a young child was unresponsive.
Speaking to a local news outlet, Lafayette Police Lieutenant Matt Gard said that one adult and two children were inside the house at the time of the tragic shooting. He also said that he didn’t think anyone tried to save the little boy’s life at the scene. It is unknown if the children were unsupervised at the time.
After an autopsy was done on Wednesday the County Coroner, Carrie Costello, said that the baby’s death was caused by one gunshot wound.
Authorities haven’t decided yet if anyone will be charged in the shooting death of the child. An investigation is underway.
In the US, many kids are dying from gunshots, including at the hands of other children. Everytown For Gun Safety says that at least 63 accidental shootings by children have killed at least 25 people and wounded at least 39 people across the US this year already.
