A toddler was killed Monday in a Rancho Cucamonga shopping center parking lot in what authorities called a “gun accident” involving the child’s 7-year-old brother.
San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to a report of a shooting in the parking lot of the Foothill Crossing Shopping Center in the 8200 block of Day Creek Boulevard with a gunshot wound at 3:53 p.m. They found a 2-year-old boy. According to the Sheriff’s Office.
The boy was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Authorities determined that the toddler and his 7-year-old brother were in the truck before the shooting when the older child discovered a firearm in the glove box.
Authorities have not said whether the boys were alone in the truck.
The children’s names have not been released.
Anyone with information regarding the shooting is asked to contact the Sheriff’s Special Investigations Division at (909) 890-4904. Anonymous tips can be submitted at (800) 782-7463 or wetip.com.
The National Violent Death Reporting System analyzed data from 2003 to 2021 and found that the largest proportion of unintentional gun deaths in the United States (33%) occurred among children ages 11 to 15, followed by Children aged 0–5 years (29%).
Last year, the CDC reported that about half of unintentional firearm injury deaths among children and adolescents occur at home. Playing with a firearm or showing a firearm to others were the most common causes.
According to the CDC, nearly half (44.6%) of the firearms that caused fatal injuries were owned by the shooter’s parent.
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