HORN LAKE, Miss. — A Horn Lake, Mississippi family is grieving over another child lost to an accidental shooting. In fact, it’s the fifth accidental shooting involving a child in the Mid-South since May 1. That’s according to Every Town for Gun Safety, which tracks these type of accidents.
Horn Lake Police confirmed a 12-year-old boy accidentally shot and killed his sister of the same age on Monday. The shooting happened inside of a home on Conrail Circle.
“Her brother, who’s also approximately 12 years old, had been playing with a gun and a round was fired. It went through his hand and hit his sister,” Deputy Chief Scott Brown said.
Neighbors we spoke to were shocked to hear about the incident.
“It’s real sad, because I have little brothers and sisters. It’s a real tragedy. It has been a lot of family to support, which is good to see, because I’m hearing the loss of a child and that hurts.”
The neighbor says she knows the family across the street, including the little girl who died. She says they have several children, and usually an older teenage sibling watches them. She assumes that was the case Monday.
Police say the kids were inside the home without any adults when the incident happened.
“You have working parents in the area. You have parents that have to work long hours to provide and make it for their children,” the neighbor said.
She doesn’t want to shame the grieving parents, but she hopes this is a lesson for others.
“If you have little ones in the home that are mobile put them away, behind in a safe or get a gun lock. Keep the guns out of the kids’ reach.”
Police haven’t said who the gun belongs to and say they haven’t ruled out charges, though they say they won’t release the victim’s name out of respect for the family.
