ST. LOUIS – A child accidentally shoots and kills a four-year-old girl in north St. Louis early Tuesday morning.
Authorities are investigating the incident as an accidental shooting. It apparently took place as multiple young children were inside a home with no adults there. A city police spokesperson said the department is heartbroken over what has happened.
The shooting unfolded around midnight with police rushing to a shooting call on the 700 block of Thrush in the Baden neighborhood, basically between Hall Street and North Broadway in north St. Louis city.
Police spokesperson Mitch McCoy says when officers got there, they found a 4-year-old girl who had been shot and was barely breathing. Officers rushed the child to the hospital in their patrol SUV.
McCoy says one officer conducted CPR on the child while another officer drove the vehicle. Tragically though, the little girl died at the hospital.
McCoy says that while it’s early in the investigation, it appears that four children, all under the age of 10, were inside the home at the time of the shooting, but no adults were at the home.
Police believe that somehow one of the children got ahold of a gun and accidentally shot the 4-year-old. One of the children in the home called 911.
“Let me be very clear; this is a tragedy. We are heartbroken,” McCoy said. “No officer expects to arrive on a scene and see this. And our officers tried to save that child’s life.”
The name of the child who was killed has not yet been released. McCoy says another child had an abrasion to their face. It’s unclear right now if that is related to the shooting.
At this point, there is no word of any arrests in the case. The name of the child who was killed also has not yet been released.
So far, we have no word of anyone in custody. McCoy says police will share updates as the investigation develops.
