Five-year-old boy accidentally shoots and kills brother after finding loaded gun in woods
Police in Griffin, Georgia, are investigating who dropped the weapon
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A five-year-old boy accidentally shot and killed his 12-year-old brother after finding a gun in the woods, US police have said.
The child, from Griffin, Georgia, found the gun on Saturday and believed it was a toy. He then accidentally shot his brother in the chest, killing him, according to the city's police department.
Police responding to the scene performed CPR on the 12-year-old before transporting him to Wellstar Spalding regional hospital, where he died from his injuries.
Police are investigating who dropped the loaded weapon.
They said, earlier that day, a uniformed patrol officer (UPD) had performed a traffic stop which led to individuals fleeing the scene into a wooded area near to where the child later found the gun.
The police statement added: “As UPD officers searched the area they found a bag of suspected MDMA and recovered it where it was turned in for examination. A weapon was not found at that time. UPD Officers later made contact with the suspected driver of the fleeing vehicle who provided them with information relative to the investigation.”
Officers also spoke with the seven-year-old and nine-year-old siblings of the two brothers on Sunday, both of whom were present at the time of the shooting. They both corroborated what happened.
“We will leave no stone unturned as we search for the individuals responsible for the abandonment of this weapon,” Griffin police chief Mike Yates said.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments