HORN LAKE, Miss. — A 12-year-old girl is dead after she was accidentally shot by her 12-year-old brother in Horn Lake Monday afternoon, police confirm.
Deputy Chief Scott Brown said police arrived at a home on the 3700 block of Conrail Circle to find the girl in a bedroom with a single gunshot wound around 3:20 p.m.
Police say the bullet first traveled through the boy’s hand before striking his sister, who later died from her injuries at Baptist DeSoto Hospital.
Brown said a preliminary investigation indicates that several children were playing in the home unsupervised at the time of the shooting.
“There was no adults inside of the residence. There may have been one outside of the residence,” Brown said.
Police are still trying to determine who the gun belongs to and how the girl’s brother was able to get hold of it.
Relatives at the home Tuesday evening declined to speak with WREG, but police are taking the opportunity to remind people to secure their weapons. Brown said the Horn Lake Police Department offers free gun locks to anyone who asks.
“All you have to do is come up to the station and ask for a gunlock. Lock your weapons up, especially if you have kids in the residence,” Brown said.
No criminal charges have been filed in connection with the shooting, but police said it’s possible that could change.
