Tragedy as three-year-old kills older sister with handgun

Police in Houston, Texas, United States are investigating an incident where a three-year-old girl accidentally killed her four-year-old sister with a handgun.

Harris County Sherrif Ed Gonzalez says the girl is said to have gained access to a loaded, semi-automatic pistol and shot his older sister in the presence of five adults, including their parents.

"When family members heard a single gunshot, they ran into a bedroom and found the four-year-old girl on the floor 'unresponsive'," the sheriff said, as reported by AFP.

Gonzalez says that although investigations have been launched, the shooting appears unintentional.

"It is just seems like another tragic story of a child gaining access to a firearm and hurting someone else," Gonzalez said.

Gun violence statistics

A research by  Pew Research Center says that about 40% of U.S households own guns. The looming disaster, however, is that less than half of these households with guns store the weapons safely.

In 2022 alone, more than 44,000 firearm deaths were reported in the U.S.

The Gun Violence Archive reports that shootings were a leading cause of death among children under the age of 18 in 2022, "with nearly 1,700 cases, including 314 under 11 years old."