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Authorities: 5-Year-Old Killed While Brothers Play With Gun

LOUISVILLE, Miss. (AP) - Mississippi authorities say a 5-year-old boy was killed when a gun went off while he and his 6-year-old brother played with it.

Winston County Coroner Scott Gregory tells The Clarion-Ledger the boys' father and grandfather were asleep after working night shifts when the gun went off Tuesday afternoon.

He says the gunshot woke them, and they thought someone had lit a firecracker indoors.

News media report the accident happened in a house about 26 miles southwest of Starkville.

Gregory says Jeremiah Brown was hit in the head and died instantly.

Winston County Sheriff Jason Pugh says the incident is still under investigation but he does not expect charges to be filed.

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(Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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