4-Year-Old Fatally Shoots His 3-Year-Old Brother
A 4-year-old boy killed his 3-year-old brother with a gun his mother kept near her bed for protection, officials said Sunday.
The accidental shooting took place Saturday at a house in Rancho Cordova, near Sacramento, the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department said. No names were given.
The 29-year-old mother slept in the bedroom of her two boys Friday night because her husband was away on business, placing a handgun in the boys’ night stand for protection, the department said. The mother failed to remove the gun the next morning and the children got hold of it, the department said.
The mother was in the kitchen about noon Saturday when she heard a shot in the boys’ bedroom.
She found her 3-year-old son shot in the side by his 4-year-old brother, the department said. The boy died at a local hospital, authorities said.
The mother was taken to the Sheriff’s Department for questioning and could face felony child-endangerment charges, officials said. The 4-year-old was taken into protective custody.
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