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An 8-year-old boy is dead after his 10-year-old brother fatally shot him while playing with a gun, police announced this week.
It all went down around 3 p.m. Monday (October 24) at the Bear Creek Crossing Apartments at 5535 Timber Creek Place in Houston, the Houston Chronicle reports, citing Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez. The 10-year-old was playing with a shotgun in a bedroom when it discharged, fatally striking his 8-year-old brother. The boy was pronounced dead at the scene. Gonzalez initially announced the younger child shot the older sibling, but corrected himself during a press conference later in the day.
"We've talked in the past about the importance of safe storage of securing weapons and responsible gun ownership. This appears to be a tragic situation of what could happen when that doesn't occur," Gonzalez said.
At the time of the shooting, there were no adults present. Another sibling, who is 13 years old, was in the one-bedroom apartment, but was not injured. Gonzalez added that the children are not currently enrolled in school; the family recently moved to Houston from Venezuela and were in the process of enrolling their children.
An investigation is underway by the HCSO Sheriff's Office and Texas Child Protective Services. No charges have been announced as of Monday afternoon.