A heartbreaking incident occurred in Jacksonville, Florida, on Monday when a 9-year-old child inadvertently fired a gun, causing the death of a 6-year-old. The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office received a distress call about a shooting incident on the city’s west side shortly before 3 p.m. Upon arrival, the officers discovered a 6-year-old child with a fatal gunshot wound to the head, who was later pronounced dead at a local hospital, according to Assistant Chief J.D. Stronko.
Stronko revealed during a press briefing that the two children were under adult supervision inside a residence at the time of the incident. The older child managed to access a firearm and fired a single shot that hit the younger child. Stronko emphasized that there was no evidence of criminal violence related to the incident.
As of the time of the press briefing on Monday, the circumstances surrounding how the child got hold of the gun and how it was discharged were unclear. No arrests have been made in connection with the incident.
The Sheriff’s Office spokesperson, in an email to Law&Crime on Wednesday, stated that the incident is still under investigation and declined to provide any further details.
The Trace, a group that researches gun violence in the United States, reported that at least 162 children under 13 have accidentally injured themselves or another child with a firearm between May 1, 2022, and June of this year. The report also revealed that 71 children died and 96 were injured in these incidents.
This incident is not an isolated one. There have been several recent cases of children accidentally discharging firearms. For instance, an 8-year-old boy in Chicago accidentally shot himself to death on Tuesday. In another incident, a 19-year-old is facing neglect charges after a 2-year-old shot a 1-year-old to death on August 8 in South Bend, Indiana. Last month, a 3-year-old accidentally shot and killed his 1-year-old sibling with an unsecured handgun near San Diego.