An 8-year-old boy in Texas was accidentally shot and killed by his 10-year-old brother with a shotgun found in the home, officials said.
The two boys and their brother, 13, were home alone when the shooting occurred around 3 p.m. Monday, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said at a news conference.
The eldest brother called 911, and the sheriff’s office responded to the one-bedroom unit at the Bear Creek Crossing Apartments in the 5500 block of Timber Creek Place, Gonzalez said.
He said that only one shot was fired and that it is believed the child was hit in the upper torso. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
It is not known whom the shotgun belonged to.
Gonzalez said that the family had recently moved to the Houston area in the past few months and that the children were not in school.
Gonzalez emphasized the importance of safely storing guns in the home, keeping them locked and away from children.
He said such situations are not only tragic for the families that are affected, but also “very dramatic for our personnel who are responding."
“I always struggle to even say it's accidental, because these are truly preventable," Gonzalez said. "I think it's something we continually get the message out on: the importance of safe storage, especially when there are kids around.”
"In this case we had three kids who were home alone and obviously had access to the shotgun, and so that’s concerning," he said.
He said the sheriff's office is investigating and working with Texas Child Protective Services, as is standard in such incidents, to ensure the children's well-being.
He said the investigation continues and charges are possible.
There have been at least 232 unintentional shootings by children this year, resulting in 102 deaths and 142 injuries across the country, according to a count by Everyone for Gun Safety, a nonprofit group that advocates for gun control.