4-year-old accidentally shoots and kills toddler cousin in San Bernardino County
A 4-year-old boy accidentally shot and killed his 2-year-old cousin in a small San Bernardino County town Friday, and authorities have arrested the victim’s grandfather on suspicion of leaving his gun in a spot accessible to the children, the Sheriff’s Department said.
Cesar Lopez, 53, the victim’s grandfather, was arrested on suspicion of child endangerment.
San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputies responded to the shooting, which occurred in the unincorporated town of Muscoy a little after 9 a.m. When they arrived to the 2700 block of Duffy Street, they found a young girl with gunshot wounds.
She was taken to a hospital and died just after 10 a.m., according to Cindy Bachman, a Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman.
There were several adults in the house when the shooting occurred, Bachman said. Both children lived in the home with their mothers. Bachman said the adults were cooperating with investigators.
Twitter: @boreskes
Times staff writer Rong-Gong Lin II contributed to this report.
UPDATES:
8:45 p.m.: This article was updated with information on the arrest of the victim’s grandfather.
This article was originally published at 2:35 p.m.
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