A Philadelphia teenager allegedly shot his 11-year-old brother to death at their home on Monday, though authorities said it’s unclear if the killing was intentional or an accident.
Acting police commissioner Christine Coulter identified the older brother, 19, as a person of interest in the shooting.
The teen, who was not identified, was taken into custody after being found a couple of blocks away from the scene of the shooting in Philadelphia’s Overbrook neighborhood, Coulter said.
Coulter said the brothers were the only two people home when the boy was shot in the chest with a handgun shortly before noon.
The older brother initially went to neighbors asking for help, Coulter said, but then fled the home before police arrived.
“There’s always a chance it was an accident,” Coulter said. “We don’t know one way or the other. I would like to believe it’s an accident but it doesn’t change the results.”
The 11-year-old was taken to a local hospital and pronounced dead shortly before 12:30 p.m., NBC Philadelphia reported.
Coulter said there were no guns registered to the home and it was unclear who the weapon belonged to.
The killing was one of several recent shootings involving children in the city.
On Oct. 19, 11-month-old Yazeem Jenkins survived being shot in the head while strapped to a car seat in a vehicle that was struck multiple time by gunfire.
The next day, Nikolette Rivera, 2, was fatally wounded after being shot in the head. She was in her family’s living room at the time.
A 10-year-old boy survived being shot in the head last week in what NBC Philadelphia reported was a drive-by shooting.