Three young children were accidentally shot and killed today, one at his own hand and the other two by relatives.

 In Springboro, Ohio, a five-year old boy shot and killed himself with his grandmother’s gun.  The boy’s father told police that he woke to the sound of a gunshot.

In Jackson County, West Virginia, a man accidentally shot and killed his 11-year old niece.  The man was cleaning his mother’s firearm when it went it off.  He was shot in the hand and his niece was hit in the chest.  She was flown to the hospital where she died from her injuries.  The man was charged with child neglect resulting in death.  His mother told deputies that “he had negligently discharged a firearm in the past and had been told ‘numerous times by numerous people’ he should not mess around with a gun while in the same room with children.”

In St. Louis, Missouri, a 16-year old boy was taken into custody when he accidentally shot and killed a four-year old.  The boy died at the hospital.    

Sources:

“5-year-old Dies in Accidental Shooting in Springboro,” WHIO7 (June 28, 2020).

Kimbereley Jackson, “Jackson County Man Charged After Shooting Death of Niece,” 13 WOWK (July 27, 2020).

Nassim Benchaabane, “Boy, 4, Killed in Accidental Shooting in Berkeley Home, Police Say,”  St. Louis Post-Dispatch (June 27, 2020).