An eight-month-old boy died Saturday after being shot by his 3-year-old brother in an apartment in Houston, police said.
Assistant Chief Wendy Baimbridge of the Houston Police Department indicated that the shooting incident unfolded accidentally after the toddler picked up an unsafe firearm.
“It’s just a tragedy,” she told a news conference. “It was just one shot on the abdomen, and unfortunately our little one died.”
Two family members took the baby boy to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead, she said. Police found a gun in the vehicle tweeted.
Hospital officials informed police about the shooting, Baimbridge said, adding that four adults were in the apartment at the time.
She said it was illegal for firearms to be accessible to young children, and investigators tried to determine who owned the gun.
“I just want to use this moment to plead parents and guardians everywhere not to allow your firearms to be accessible to anyone in the house,” she said. “Lock them up.”
Austin Mullen contributed.