In a devastating incident, a child lost their life after another child accidentally shot them with a loaded gun while playing in a home in Mountain Village, Alaska. The incident occurred in the early hours of Sunday morning, as the two children were engaged in a playful Nerf gun game. The Alaska State Troopers reported that one of the children mistakenly picked up a loaded rifle and pulled the trigger, resulting in the fatal outcome. Authorities arrived at the scene, but the second child had already succumbed to the injuries. The incident is currently under investigation, and no charges have been filed yet.
According to the Alaska State Troopers, the children discovered the loaded gun inside the home where the tragic shooting took place. While an adult was present during the incident, it remains unclear whether they were the owner of the firearm. Due to the size of the community and the need to protect juvenile information, the ages and identities of the children involved have not been publicly disclosed. The Alaska State Troopers have not explicitly stated whether the shooting was accidental.
Accidental gun deaths involving children and teenagers are uncommon in Alaska. If determined to be accidental, this incident in Mountain Village would be the first child-related shooting in the state this year, as per the Everytown database. The last child-related shooting in Alaska occurred in 2019, although the advocacy group’s research indicates that there were several incidents in the preceding years.
This tragic accident adds to a distressing pattern of children unintentionally causing harm to one another after coming across unsecured firearms. Just last month, a 3-year-old child accidentally shot and killed their 1-year-old sister using a handgun found in their San Diego home. Similarly, a 2-year-old child in Michigan lost their life after finding and accidentally shooting themselves with a firearm. In May, a 9-year-old boy in Texas fatally shot his 4-year-old brother in the head with his uncle’s loaded gun, following a lesson on how to handle the weapon.