Two people are in custody after a 3-year-old boy found an unsecured gun and accidentally shot his 5-year-old sister late Monday.
Officers responded to an apartment in southwest Washington D.C. at around 6:30 p.m. over reports of a shooting.
“What we know at this time is the female victim was injured when a younger child accessed a firearm that was unsecured in the apartment,” Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela A. Smith said.
The girl remained in critical condition at an area hospital. Police arrested a man who was taking care of the siblings at the time of the shooting on charges of cruelty to children.
The victim’s adult sister was also arrested and charged with assaulting a special police officer.
“What I want to emphasize tonight is that this incident really highlights the danger of unsecured firearms in homes and especially around children,” Smith said.
“We want to emphasize the importance of firearm safety and we are asking everyone to keep our young female victim in your prayers at this time.”
