Boy hit in Arizona target-shooting accident dies

(Reuters) - A 9-year-old boy who was shot in the neck by a bullet ricochet while target shooting in the Arizona desert died on Thursday of his wounds, authorities said. The boy had been airlifted to Phoenix Children's Hospital after being hit a ricocheted handgun round early on Wednesday in the accident west of Phoenix, sheriff's deputies said. Christopher Hegstrom, a spokesman for the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, said he was pronounced dead on Thursday. "At this time, no charges have been filed pending the outcome of the investigation," Hegstrom said in a statement, adding no other information was currently available. Authorities say the boy was target shooting with a group that included two adults and his sister at about 5 a.m. local time, and that it not immediately clear who fired the shot that injured him. The group had several handguns and a shotgun with them, sheriff's deputies said. (Reporting by Daniel Wallis; editing by Andrew Hay)