- The gruesome ordeal took place Friday evening around 7:20 PM at the family’s home in the 2100 block of George Street in Gary, Indiana.
- The boy’s mother told authorities that there was a gun in her purse and that her three-year-old son had accidentally shot his younger brother.
- The two-year-old boy’s death was later ruled accidental, the Lake County coroner’s office said, WGN9 News reported.
A three-year-old Indiana boy shot and killed his two-year-old brother after finding a loaded gun in his mother’s purse.
The gruesome ordeal happened Friday evening around 7:20 p.m. at the family’s home in the 2100 block of George Street. Neighbors of the Gary home told the story ABC7 Chicago that they heard a loud bang. The child’s mother rushed her injured son to Northlake Methodist Hospital.
Officers were dispatched to the medical facility in reference to a toddler shot. When authorities spoke to the victim’s mother, whose name was not released, she told police her older son had accidentally shot his younger sibling.
The boy’s mother told police that a gun was in her purse when she left a bedroom. It remains unclear why she had a gun in her purse, but the two youths were reportedly alone in the room with police.loaded weapon.
The two-year-old boy later died from injuries sustained in the shooting.
The Indiana home where Friday night’s tragedy occurred when a three-year-old boy fatally shot his two-year-old brother. The older boy found a loaded gun in his mother’s purse. Gary police are now investigating
Gary Police Chief Sam Roberts spoke to the media about the weekend’s tragedy. He said, “We do a criminal investigation, and then we present that to the Lake County prosecutor, who makes a determination as to whether it was negligence or an unfortunate accident.”
A joint statement was issued by Gary Mayor Jerome Prince and Gary Police Chief Anthony Titus expressing their condolences to the family
The names of the victim and the three-year-old shooter have not been released because they are minors.
The Lake County Prosecutor’s Office Homicide Task Force is investigating the weekend shooting.
Gary Police Chief Sam Roberts described how the case will proceed. ‘We conduct a criminal investigation and then present that to the Lake County Prosecutor’s Office, who makes a determination as to whether it was negligence or an unfortunate accident.”
It was later concluded that the two-year-old boy’s death was ruled an accident by the Lake County Coroner’s office. WGN9 News reported.
As of Monday afternoon, no charges were announced by officials and the investigation is ongoing, WTHR reported.
On Saturday, Gary Mayor Jerome A. Prince and Gary Police Chief Anthony Titus released a joint statement expressing their condolences to the family. They also said the matter was under investigation.
“Our hearts and prayers go out to the loved ones of the two-year-old child who was so tragically taken from our community,” they said. “We understand that nothing we say will ease the pain these tragedies are causing in our community.
“It is a difficult reminder of the responsibility we all have as adults in properly securing firearms and devices that could become weapons in the hands of innocent children,” they said.
They also urged adults who own firearms to become “fully responsible.”
Gary police asked gun owners to secure their weapons in a gun box or with a gun lock.
They said the department will offer free gun locks to their community to prevent further incidents like this from happening.
“We will determine the best way to distribute these free and potentially life-saving devices throughout our community,” they said in part, ABC Chicago reported.
As of July 2022, the state of Indiana will no longer require a pistol permit to legally carry, conceal, or transport a firearm within the state.
Anyone 18 years of age or older who is prohibited from possessing a firearm by state or federal law may do so, with some exceptions.