4-Year-Old Boy Dies After Shooting Himself In East Liberty
By: KDKA's Chris Hoffman and Meghan Schiller
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- A 4-year-old boy died after police said he shot himself in the face in East Liberty.
"This was a devastating tragedy. We believe it was an accident. A 4-year-old boy got a hold of a gun and shot himself in the face," said Pittsburgh police spokesperson Cara Cruz.
The family identified him as Ajani Lane.
"Medics were there immediately," said Cruz. "It was literally minutes after this happened and they transported the child to Children's Hospital in extremely critical condition and very sadly he passed away a short time later."
One guardian was in the home on North Negley Avenue when the shooting happened around 8:15 Monday, police said. Yellow crime tape surrounded the home with children's toys filling the front porch.
Police will now determine if any adults should face charges in his death.
Later on Monday, another child died after police said a 6-year-old shot a 5-year-old in Penn Hills.
"This issue of unintentional shootings among children has long been a problem and it remains a big one. It happens a lot more than you might think actually," said Josh Fleitman with CeaseFirePA.
Fleitman said it needs to serve as a reminder to all gun owners.
"Sometimes they think simply hiding it in a cabinet, putting it on a bookshelf, is sufficient in getting it out of the kid's reach, but there have been studies that show kids, they're always watching and they know a lot of the time. Seventy-three percent of cases in kids under 10 know where the parent stores their firearms," said Fleitman.
WATCH: KDKA's Chris Hoffman reports
Fleitman said to keep guns in either a lockbox or with a trigger lock, keeping it unloaded and locked away from the ammunition.
Public Safety officials said they're offering help to the medics and officers who tended to the boy Monday morning.
Police are investigating.
