JACKSONVILLE, FL (WCMH) – Florida police say an accidental shooting left a 5-year-old girl dead and injured a 4-year-old boy.
According to Chief Chris Butler with the Jacksonville County Sheriff’s Office, 5-year-old Serenity Allen and her 4-year-old brother were shot by a gun fired by their 8-year-old brother. Police say that the three kids were home alone when it happened.
“I guess the best way to describe it would be a tragic, unfortunate, accidental shooting that we have here,” Butler told WFOX.
Police say that the children’s mother and the 8-year-old boy are with police and that charges may be pending. The police department and children’s services will continue to investigate.
Marie Peterson, the children’s grandmother, says it’s a bad situation all around, but that the family needs prayers instead of judgement.
“People will sit around and they’ll have their own perceptions of what they feel this one did or that one did, or how this should go or that should go. But you can’t say until you’re in that situation,” Peterson said.
Police say the mother of the children may have been at the store when the shooting happened and that it isn’t clear how accessible the handgun was. Butler says that this is why guns should be kept locked up and out of children’s reach.
“For me, it all comes down to responsible gun ownership,” Butler said. “And securing your weapons within your home, making sure that they’re locked up and children don’t have access to them.”