Five-year-old boy accidentally shoots dead three-year-old girl at home in Minnesota

A three-year-old girl has died after she was shot by a five-year-old boy at a home in Minnesota on Friday.  

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office responded to a 911 call about the shooting in Bena shortly before 4am. 

Sheriff Tom Burch called the shooting ‘accidental’ in a press statement. It is unclear what took place in the home or how the children had access to a gun. 

Neither of the children have been named and their relationship has not been disclosed. 

The Cass Country Sheriff’s Office released a statement that reported a three-year-old girl was ‘accidentally’ shot and killed by a five-year-old boy in Bena, Minnesota

The family took the girl to the hospital and was intercepted by an ambulance on the way there. 

Lifesaving attempts were made, but the girl was pronounced dead at Deer River Hospital. 

An autopsy is pending and the police are investigating.  

There are currently no criminal charges being pressed.   

The girl was taken to Deer River Hospital (pictured). The family was intercepted on the way to the hospital by an ambulance who performed lifesaving attempts. The girl was pronounced dead when she arrived at the hospital 

According to a 2019 study, gun violence is the second-leading cause of death in children and teens, and it is the highest leading cause of death in high school-aged kids. 

In 2018, an average of 13 people ages 10-24 were killed via homicide. 

According to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia said 1.7million children are currently living in a house with unlocked and loaded guns. 

People that die from ‘accidental shootings’ are three times as likely to live in a house with a gun, and children 12 and under who are killed by a firearm are typically killed in their own homes.  

Many parents believe their children do not know where the gun is located in the house, but research by the Center for Injury Research and Policy reported that 75 per cent of children do know. 

It is also reported that those who live in homes with firearms are twice the risk of homicide and three times the risk of suicide compared to those who do not live with a firearm. 

There are many ways to store a gun, but keeping guns and ammunition locked and unloaded in separate storage is recommended by the United States Concealed Carry Association. In addition to keeping the gun out of sight and out of reach of children.

Minnesota Child Access Prevention laws, or CAP law, states: ‘Minnesota prohibits any person from negligently storing or leaving a loaded firearm in a location where the person knows, or reasonably should know, that a child under age 18 is likely to gain access to the firearm, unless reasonable action is taken to secure the firearm against access by the child.

‘This prohibition does not apply if the child obtained access as a result of any unlawful entry,’ according to Giffords Law Center.

It is not known how the five-year-old boy accessed the gun.