3-year-old boy dies after shooting himself in face

ByEMILY SHAPIRO ABCNews logo
Monday, July 29, 2019

A 3-year-old boy has died after Chicago police say he shot himself in the face.

The shooting took place at a home on Sunday afternoon, authorities said. The boy's family members told authorities they heard a gunshot while in another room and then found the boy with a gun, according to Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi.

The 3-year-old was taken to Trinity Hospital where he was pronounced dead, police said.

The shooting was believed to be accidental, police said.

No arrests have been made, Chicago Police spokeswoman Sally Bown told ABC News on Monday.

"We extend our deepest condolences as detectives continue to investigate," Guglielmi tweeted. "DCFS [the Department of Children and Family Services] has also been called in to assist."

Kyleanne Hunter, the vice president of The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, says while accidental gun deaths are tragic, "unfortunately this isn't rare at all."

Hunter said a child unintentionally shoots themselves or another child eight times every day, citing a multi-year average of data compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"The most important thing that parents can do is if they choose to bring a gun into the home is to store it safely," Hunter told ABC News in May. "And what we know from research is the most safe way is unloaded, locked, and with the ammunition stored separately."

ABC News' Meghan Keneally contributed to this report.

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