A 7-year-old girl in South Carolina was fatally shot by a 5-year-old boy who accidentally fired a gun he thought was a toy, WWMT-TV reported.
According to authorities in Lexington County, the tragic incident occurred at a birthday party on Saturday night. The boy was allegedly trying to grab a fake gun out of a trunk when he picked up a real one by mistake.
"When he was fooling around trying to get his toy gun out, he accidentally pulled the trigger of the real gun while it was in the trunk," Lexington County Sheriff James Metts said.
After the gun was fired, a bullet went through the car and fragments of it struck Juliet Lynch in the chest. She was pronounced dead at a hospital shortly after, WWMT said.
Some of the fragments also hit a second 5-year-old boy in the arm, though police said his injury is not life-threatening.
The gun reportedly belonged to the boyfriend of the boy's mother, PennLive.com said. It is unknown if any charges have been filed.
"They took somebody from me that was so precious. That little girl came in my room, always slept with her momma, she loved me and I loved her," Lynch's mother told WLTX-TV.
In January, a 4-year-old girl accidentally shot and killed her 4-year-old cousin in Detroit.
Detroit Deputy Chief Rodney Johnson said that three children, all cousins, were playing in the house when the accident occurred. The kids found a "long gun" under a bed and started playing with it.
"At this time, although it's early in the investigation, this appears to be a tragic accident," Detroit Police Public Information Officer Adam Madera said, according to CNN.
