Kentucky State Police trooper Billy Gregory said, "it's too early to know whether" charges will be filed in the case of a 5-year-old boy who accidentally shot and killed his 2-year-old sister in Cumberland County on Tuesday, news reports said.
"It think there is still some information that we don't fully," Gregory said. "As the investigation continues and when we finish, I'm sure we'll present the totality of the circumstances to the Commonwealth's attorney and then he'll make a decision whether or not to present to the grand jury."
As it stands, Cumberland County Coroner Gary White said that the shooting would be ruled accidentally. The young girl died of a single gun shot wound to the chest .
2-year-old Caroline Sparks was pronounced dead Tuesday at Cumberland County Hospital where she was taken after the early afternoon shooting.
The shooter, Caroline's 5-year-old brother, was identified as Kristian Sparks in a statement released by Cumberland County Judge-Executive John Phelps, Jr.
The family lives in a gray mobile home, surrounded by rolling hills and farmland, according to the Associated Press.
The gun, a Crickett rifle, was apparently a gift to the boy last year, White said. The gun had been kept in a corner, and the family did not realize that a shell had been left in it it. Keystone Sporting Arms has a "Kids Corner" on its website with pictures of young boys and girls at shooting ranges and on bird and deer hunts. It says the company produced 60,000 Crickett and Chipmunk rifles for kids in 2008, according to the Associated Press.
An autopsy was to be performed Wednesday in Louisville to determine a preliminary cause of death. State police will not close their investigation for several weeks, when a cause of death is finalized and a death certificate is issued, Gregory said.
In 2009, 114 children and adolescents younger than 20 died as a result of unintentional firearm-related injuries, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of those, 66 unintentional deaths occurred in teens between the ages 15 and 19.
