11-year-old boy is accidentally shot dead by younger brother with unsecured handgun
Warning: This article contains a recollection of crime and can be triggering to some, readers' discretion advised
ALLENTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA: A tragic incident unfolded in Pennsylvania after an 11-year-old boy was fatally shot by his 10-year-old younger brother. The harrowing incident took place at a home on North Front Street on Tuesday, December 27 just before 7:30 pm. The Allentown police were dispatched to the crime scene where they found a severely injured young boy suffering from a gunshot wound.
Law enforcement rushed the injured boy to Lehigh Valley Cedar Crest, but shortly the boy succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead. Authorities later informed the tragic incident was an accident that occurred while the two children were playing with handguns. An investigation is undergoing by members of the Allentown Police Department and Lehigh County Homicide Task Force, reported FOX News.
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According to the Lehigh County District Attorney James B Martin’s office, the two young boys and their older brother along with their parents were visiting their father’s aunt’s house in Allentown, according to the source. The aunt has a 24-year-old son who lives in the house, and owns two legally 9mm handguns which he keeps in the basement of the house, said the DA's office.
Authorities informed the 24-year-old had recently gone shooting and had not locked up his gun, instead he placed them outside of a lockbox because he was planning to clean the weapon. "When he heard the boys arrive upstairs, he attempted to quickly hide the guns, with the expectation that the boys might be coming down into the basement to play video games, as they did sometimes when they visited," Martin’s press release read. The two young boys and the 24-year-old's identities were not released.
Moreover, the two boys made their way to the basement to play videos as usual while the 24-year-old went upstairs to meet the rest of the family. However, the family was left shocked after hearing a sudden gunfire erupt. "A short time later, a gunshot was heard, and the eleven-year-old victim was discovered to have been severely injured," the release read. Moreover, the DA's office noted the shooting was tragic and accidental while adding the 10-year-old would not be prosecuted.