A 2-year-old boy has died after suffering an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound while two adults and a teenager were home with him at the time of the shooting.
The incident happened on the morning of Sept. 16 in Fayetteville, North Carolina, when officers responded to a call from a home in the McArthur Place Community, said spokesperson for the Fayetteville Police Department, Lt. Gary Womble.
Fayetteville detectives said they were notified of the two-year-old's passing on Saturday, according to ABC News’ Raleigh station WTVD.
Womble confirmed that there were at least three other people -- two adults and one teenager -- inside the residence at the time of the incident but it is unclear how the boy managed to obtain the firearm or if he was being watched at the time of the incident.
"In my opinion, any gunshot wound is serious, especially when it happens to a juvenile," said Womble during a press conference on Wednesday. "It's even more serious and more serious for us in our investigative methods to find out exactly what occurred that a child would suffer a gunshot wound. That's important to us and that's what (sic) the detectives are working hard to determine what happened."
A witness told WTVD that she was a neighbour and saw a woman crying for help outside of the resident just moments before first responders arrived.
The Fayetteville Police Department confirmed that the child was taken to the hospital immediately after he was shot on Wednesday and that he was treated for his injuries before ultimately succumbing to them on Sept. 19.
The child’s identity has not been made public at this time and the shooting remains under investigation.
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