According to police, a Mississippi boy, 9, killed his 13-year-old sister in a video game-related shooting Saturday afternoon after she refused to give him a game controller he wanted.
Monroe County Sheriff Cecil Cantrell told reporters Dijonae White was shot in the back of the head and died after being rushed to the hospital, WLOV reported.
Police have not yet charged the boy with anything pending an investigation, USA Today reported. It was unclear where the boy got the gun and whether he knew that guns were dangerous.
“This is all new ground for us, we’ve never dealt with a kid shooting a kid at age 9,” Cantrell said, WLOV reported. “We don’t know yet what kind of charges or if charges will be pressed. We want to make sure we’re doing everything correctly.
“That’s why I’m not too fast to say anything because there are juveniles involved. We want to do what’s right and we’re going to get it right,” Cantrell continued. He also asked for thoughts and prayers for the boy and his family.
The children’s mother was in another room feeding other children lunch when the shooting occurred in a bedroom where the video game was being played, Fox News reported.
Charges could be brought against the parents for negligence if they did not properly secure the gun in a place where the boy couldn’t reach it, The Washington Post reported.
On average, 1,297 children die each year from firearms, a 2017 report in the journal Pediatrics reported. Firearms are the third leading cause of death for children ages 1 to 17.
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