Officials at Yellowstone National Park are investigating the death of a 3-year-old girl whose mother said she shot herself at the campground, The Rapid City Journal reported.
Park officials responded to a call from Grant Village Campground on Saturday morning and attempted to resuscitate the girl. According to the rangers, this is the first shooting death in the national park since 1978.
Al Nash, spokesman for the park, said the investigation is ongoing and part of the park is temporarily closed.
"We don't have all of the information, and we haven't drawn any conclusions," he said.
Nash also said he didn't know if any other families were near the Idaho woman and her daughter during the incident. Names have not been released.
On Feb. 22, 2010, a federal law was enacted to allow visitors to carry firearms in the park and stirred controversy among activists.
"When you are at a campfire and people are getting loud and boisterous next to you, you used to have to worry about them quieting down. Now you have to worry about when they will start shooting," said Paul Helmke, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.
"Given the 3 million visitors we see here every year, there thankfully are very few fatalities reported in the park," Nash added. Most deaths in the park are caused by heart attacks, he said.
Recent reports said that 2.5 million people visited the national park in August.
Yellowstone spans through Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana. The girl's death occurred in Wyoming section. Because the park predates the formation of all three states, park officials have federal jurisdiction. Nash said Yellowstone has a federal district court, a federal magistrate, and an assistant U.S. attorney based in Mammoth Hot Springs. However, they work with local law enforcement and collaborate on investigations.
