A 5-year-old girl in D.C. is in critical condition after her 3-year-old brother somehow got access to a gun and it went off, shooting her in the chest Monday evening, police say.
The shooting happened inside an apartment building in the unit block of Galveston Street SW in the Bellevue neighborhood, not far from the Maryland border.
A man who was in the apartment watching the children at the time has been arrested, Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela Smith said. He was set to be charged with cruelty to children, Smith said.
“What we know at this time is the female victim was injured when a younger child accessed a firearm that was unsecured in the apartment,” Smith said. ”Officers arrested an adult male who was inside the apartment and was tasked with providing support or care for the children at the time the incident occurred."
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The children's mother had left them in the man's care while she ran errands.
A woman identified by police as an older sister of the victim was also taken into custody. She faces charges for allegedly assaulting a special police officer who provides security at the apartment building.
Smith says the shocking shooting is a reminder of the vital importance of gun safety.
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“We cannot talk about gun safety enough,” she said. “And you know, again, when we have firearms and our homes, there's an expectation that we are to keep our firearms locked up and especially away from our young children.”
Police say their investigation continues.
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