Boy, three, fatally shoots his two-year-old brother after finding gun in his mother’s purse inside their Gary, Indiana, home

• The horrifying ordeal happened on Friday night around 7.20pm at the family’s home in the 2100 block of George Street in Gary, Indiana 
• The boy’s mother told authorities that a gun had been in her purse and that her three-year-old son accidentally shot his younger brother
• It was later concluded that the two-year-old boy’s death was ruled accidental by  the Lake County Coroner’s office, WGN9 News reported

A three-year-old Indiana boy fatally shot his two-year-old brother after he found a loaded gun in his mother’s purse.

The horrifying ordeal happened on Friday night around 7.20pm at the family’s home in the 2100 block of George Street. Neighbors of the Gary home told  ABC7 Chicago that they heard a loud bang. The child’s mother rushed her wounded son to Northlake Methodist Hospital. 

Officers were dispatched to the medical facility regarding a toddler who had been shot. When authorities spoke to the victim’s mother, whose name was not released, she told police her older son accidentally shot his younger sibling. 

The boy’s mother told police that a gun had been in her purse when she left a bedroom. It remains unclear the reason she had a gun in her bag, but the two youngsters were reportedly alone in the room with the loaded weapon.

The two-year-old boy later died from injuries he sustained from the shooting. 

The Indiana home where Friday night’s tragedy took place when a three-year-old boy fatally shot his two-year-old brother. The older boy found a loaded gun that was in his mother’s purse. Gary police are now investigating 

Gary police Commander Sam Roberts spoke to the media about the weekend tragedy. He said, ‘ We do criminal investigations, and then we present that to the Lake County prosecutor, who makes a decision whether its negligence or an unfortunate accident’

A joint statement was issued by the Mayor of Gary Jerome Prince and Anthony Titus, the Police Chief for the Gary police expressing their condolences to the family 

The names of the victim and the three-year-old shooter were not disclosed because they are minors.

The Lake County Prosecutor’s Homicide Task Force is investigating the weekend shooting.

Gary Police Commander Sam Roberts described how the case will proceed. ‘We do criminal investigations, and then we present that to the Lake County prosecutor, who makes a decision whether its negligence or an unfortunate accident.’

It was later concluded that the two-year-old boy’s death was ruled accidental by the Lake County Coroner’s office, WGN9 News reported. 

As of Monday afternoon, no charges were announced by officials and the investigation is ongoing, WTHR reported.

On Saturday, the Mayor of Gary Jerome A. Prince and Gary Police Chief Anthony Titus released a joint statement expressing their condolences to the family. They also said the case was under investigation.

‘Our hearts and prayers go out to the loved ones of the two-year-old child who was so tragically taken from our community,’ they said. ‘We understand nothing we say will ease the pain these tragedies cause in our community.

‘It’s a difficult reminder of the responsibility we all have as adults in properly securing any firearms and devices that may become weapons in the hands of innocent children,’ they said.

They also urged those adults, who possess firearms, to become ‘fully responsible.’ 

Gary police asked that gun owners secure their weapons in a gun box or with a gun lock.

They said the department will be offering free gun locks to their community to prevent further incidents like these from taking place.

 ‘We will determine the best way to issue these free and potentially life-saving devices throughout our community,’ they said, in part, ABC Chicago reported.

As of July 2022, the state of Indiana no longer requires a handgun permit to legally carry, conceal or transport a firearm within the state.

Anyone 18 years old or older, who is not prohibited from possessing a firearm by state or federal laws, may, with a few exceptions, do so.

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