A 3-year-old boy accidentally shot and killed his 2-year-old brother after finding a gun in their mom’s purse in Gary, Indiana.
According to WLS-TV, the tragic incident happened Friday (Nov. 17) right before 7:30 p.m. Officers were sent to a local hospital, where the mom drove the wounded toddler and he later died of his injury. Cops said they were told that the 3-year-old found the gun after the mom left a bedroom in their home on Georgia Street. Although the incident is still being investigated by the Lake County Prosecutor’s Homicide Task Force, the Lake County Coroner’s Office ruled the death as an accident. No charges were filed as of today (Nov. 20).
In a joint message, Gary Mayor Jerome A. Prince and Gary Police Chief Anthony Titus expressed their griefs and urged gun-owning residents to secure their firearms, especially around kids. “Our hearts and prayers go out to the loved ones of the 2-year-old child who was so tragically taken from our community,” the statement began. “We understand nothing we say will ease the pain these tragedies cause in our community. This case is under investigation, but it’s a difficult reminder of the responsibility we all have as adults in properly securing any firearms and devices that may become weapons in the hands of innocent children.”
The statement included that the police department will be giving out free gun locks. “Adults must become fully responsible when in possession of all firearms. Clearly, we must do more to protect our community members from accidents like these, and we are going to act now. We have free gun locks available at our Gary Police Department, 555 Polk St., and we are ordering many more. We will determine the best way to issue these free and potentially life-saving devices throughout our community,” it read.