A 3-year-old toddler has killed his sister when he shot her dead using an unlocked gun.
Per CBS: Police said that Kimi Reylander and her little brother were at their great-grandparents’ house in Irondale, Alabama when the shooting occurred. According to Police Chief Ken Atkinson, the family members who were present at that time weren’t aware that the gun was in the room the kids were playing in.
Another family member placed the gun on the nightstand and didn’t know that the kids would be there.
Later, Kimberly was found by her family members on the floor bleeding from a wound to her head.
“Her grandma was laying the towel on her head and laid down there and started praying, she was praying, I was praying, my wife was screaming and praying. Nobody knows how that feels until you experience it,” the girl’s grandfather, Joel Watson, said in a report from The Washington Post.
Kimberly was rushed to Children’s of Alabama hospital on Saturday, but failed to survive her injuries. Police call the fatal shooting a “tragic incident”.
“The lesson is you have to make sure those weapons are put up, out of sight and out of reach, really of anyone, but especially children,” said Atkinson.
“It is tragic because this 3-year-old has no idea what is going on right now. It is just a horrible situation.”
In 2015, an investigation found that there had been 43 instances of shootings involving toddlers. Among the 15 shootings that were fatal, 13 of them resulted to toddlers inadvertently killing themselves.
According to Time, there have been atleast five recorded incidents of toddler-related accidents this year.
Kimberly’s school released a statement online on Sunday saying that she’s a girl who had been “a wonderfully bright and cheery presence”. They said that she “will be sorely missed”.
The 9 year-old girl’s death is still under investigation, according to police. She will be laid to rest on Wednesday, Feb. 10th.
