“It appears that one parent thought the other parent was maybe watching the … children when, in fact, the two toddlers were left unsupervised inside the bedroom,” Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said.
HOUSTON — A 3-year-old girl found a loaded gun in a Texas home and accidentally shot her sister, killing the 4-year-old on Sunday, an official said.
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said the girls were in the bedroom of an apartment on Bammel North Houston Road, where they lived with their parents, around 8 p.m.
Five adults, who were all family members or family friends, were in other parts of the apartment and the girls unintentionally were left unsupervised, according to the sheriff.
“It appears that one parent thought the other parent was maybe watching the other children when, in fact, the two toddlers were left unsupervised inside the bedroom,” Gonzalez said.
HOUSTON — A 3-year-old girl found a loaded gun in a Texas home and accidentally shot her sister, killing the 4-year-old on Sunday, an official said.
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said the girls were in the bedroom of an apartment on Bammel North Houston Road, where they lived with their parents, around 8 p.m.
Five adults, who were all family members or family friends, were in other parts of the apartment and the girls unintentionally were left unsupervised, according to the sheriff.
“It appears that one parent thought the other parent was maybe watching the other children when, in fact, the two toddlers were left unsupervised inside the bedroom,” Gonzalez said.
The Harris County District Attorney’s Office will decide whether any of the adults will face charges based on the police investigation, which is still in the preliminary phase, Gonzalez said.
“Our hearts are broken. Our deputies are pretty shaken up,” Gonzalez said, noting that support personnel would be at the scene to assist the officers and family members.
“The community is impacted when a child loses their life in this way,” Gonzalez said, adding that the shooting was another avoidable gun death.
“We continue to send the message that this is very preventable,” Gonzalez said. “You’ve got to be sure you’re being a responsible gun owner, securing your weapons in a safe place. It’s got to be more than just telling young kids not to touch the weapons. You know, we’ve got to do a little more. We see far too many tragic situations like this unfold.”