A 5-year-old boy from Utah died Sunday after accidentally shooting himself.
The boy’s family had returned home late Saturday from a camping trip, according to Smithfield Police Chief Travis K. Allen. Upon arrival, the family unloaded its camping supplies and then went to bed.
“The 5-year-old boy woke up early and went downstairs, and started going through the stuff,” Allen told CacheValleyDaily.com. “He found a handgun the family had taken with them camping. He started playing with that handgun and it discharged.”
Officials pronounced the child dead at the scene and suspect he was killed instantly after the bullet struck him in the head, CacheValleyDaily.com reported.
The family was still asleep when the shooting occurred, CacheValleyDaily.com reported, adding that evidence suggests the shooting was a “tragic accident.”
“It doesn’t appear suspicious now, but it is standard procedure that we will go down and observe the autopsy just in case something is brought to light. We aren’t seeing anything that would warrant suspicious circumstances,” Allen told the website.
The boy’s name has not been released and the investigation into the boy’s death is continuing, Allen told CacheValleyDaily.com.
