4-year-old shoots and kills self when brother leaves gun unattended, Georgia cops say
A 4-year-old Georgia girl fatally shot herself after getting a hold of a gun, deputies said. Now, her adult brother is charged in her death.
Joseph Edwin Hinson, 20, was arrested on second-degree murder and child cruelty charges in the Aug. 30 incident, according to the Paulding County Sheriff’s Office.
Authorities were called around 2:40 a.m. Friday about a child who fell and was injured at a home in Hiram, deputies said in a news release. When they arrived, paramedics instead found a child who had been shot in the head.
The girl was pronounced dead at the scene, the coroner’s office said. Authorities haven’t released her identity.
Detectives said they spoke with adults who were home at the time and learned the child’s older brother left his gun unattended. The child found it and accidentally shot herself, deputies said.
Authorities didn’t say where the weapon was left in the home or how the 4-year-old got to it.
Hinson was taken to the Paulding County Jail and is being held without bond, according to the sheriff’s office.
Deputies didn’t release additional details but said the shooting remains under investigation.
Hiram is about a 30-mile drive northwest from downtown Atlanta.
This story was originally published September 4, 2024 at 9:05 AM with the headline "4-year-old shoots and kills self when brother leaves gun unattended, Georgia cops say."