Jacksonville police: 6-year-old dies after accidentally shot in head by another child, 9

In another instance of a child getting a hold of a gun inside a home, another child is dead, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.

Officers were called about 2:45 p.m. Monday to a home in the 5500 block of South Shady Pine Street on the Westside for a report a 6-year-old child accidentally shot in the head. Assistant Chief J.D. Stronko said he was taken to a hospital but died.

"Initial investigation determined the two juveniles were located inside of the residence in the care of an adult," Stronko said. "One of the juveniles was able to obtain a firearm and fired a single shot striking the victim. There is no indication of criminal violence."

The other child was 9 years old, but Stronko said due to the state's Marsy's Law he couldn't provide their relationship. He also said it was early in the investigation and couldn't say where the gun had been, who it belonged to and who was the adult.

He did say the adult was being questioned but no charges have been filed.

Unnecessary deaths: 9 children in Florida have died from accidental shootings since 2021. 5 of them were in Jacksonville.

Guns and unintentional victims: Accidental shootings plague Jacksonville as victim is identified; at least 15 since 2020

Gun found in handbag: 3-year-old pulled trigger in Jacksonville woman’s accidental death

In some similar cases, culpable negligence charges were charged under specific circumstances against caregivers and in others no one was arrested. In a 2021 case a 14-year-old boy was charged with culpable negligence for the improperly stored firearm that a 6-year-old boy retrieved and accidentally shot himself, according to Times-Union archives.

That boy was shot in the head in the home in 10000 block of Lowe Lane where several other people were inside, the Sheriff's Office said. The investigation showed the 6-year-old boy, identified as Danny Waye III by family, had been in a bedroom watching television when he found the loaded handgun.

In a 2017 case, a 9-year-old boy got his hands on his father’s stolen gun and accidentally shot an 8-year-old friend who survived, according to another Times-Union article. The father was initially charged with possession of a firearm by a felon and permitting gun access to a juvenile, and eventually culpable negligence.

Statewide accidental shooting deaths of children

The Florida Department of Children and Families maintains investigative data on child deaths and lists three other accidental shootings this year:

Feb. 15: Volusia County — A 3-year-old child was pronounced deceased after he accidentally shot himself when he gained access to the weapon.

March 9: Orange County — A 4-year-old child was pronounced deceased after he sustained a gunshot wound to the head while visiting with his father and his father's paramour. It was subsequently determined that the child accidentally shot himself when he picked up the weapon.

May 27: Broward County — A 2-year-old child was pronounced deceased after she sustained a gunshot wound while she was playing with the loaded weapon.

Gun safety and prevention

Although Monday's shooting has not been determined where the firearm was located, nonprofit organizations like States United to Prevent Gun Violence push for proper gun storage, stating that eight children a day are shot by a misused or unlocked gun.

The group reminds parents to empty and lock up a gun to prevent "a parent’s worst nightmare: Their child handling a loaded gun."

“Parents who own guns need to take every precaution when it comes to gun storage,” Executive Director Clai Lasher-Sommers previously told the Times-Union. “Three in four first- and second-graders know where their parents keep their gun, and one in three admit to handling the weapons.”

The American Academy of Pediatrics states that the safest home for a child is one without guns. If a gun is in a home, it should be unloaded and locked, with ammunition stored separately with no access to keys or combinations, the academy states. Loaded guns should not be stored unlocked in a car either.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: 9-year-old accidentally shoots, kills 6-year-old, Jacksonville police say