Butler said the elder boy fired a single shot from the gun, which killed his younger sister and gave his brother a non-life-threatening wound. Emergency personnel tried to save the girl, but were unsuccessful.

The children were home alone in a Jacksonville apartment when the shooting occurred, Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office Chief Chris Butler said.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A 5-year-old girl was fatally shot and her 4-year-old brother wounded in an accidental shooting on Saturday by their 8-year-old brother, police said.

‘‘We believe, in the absence of any other information being developed, that unfortunately this is a tragic unfortunate accidental shooting,’’ Butler told The Florida Times-Union.


The children’s mother had left for an unspecified amount of time to go to a store, Butler said. He did not release the names of the family involved.

A therapist was brought in to help the boy who fired the shot, Butler said. The Florida Department of Children and Families and the state attorney’s office were also being consulted.

It was unclear to investigators how the child got access to the gun, or whether it had been properly stored and secured.

Butler said the incident is under investigation to see if any charges will be filed for leaving a gun accessible to the children.

In a separate development, a 27-year-old Connecticut man is facing arson and other charges after a 2-year-old boy was brought to a hospital with serious burns.

Police said the toddler, who they haven’t identified, was brought to Connecticut Children’s Medical Center in Hartford early Saturday. They said officials were initially told the burns were caused from an electrical fire at an apartment complex.

But further investigation led police to arrest and charge Michael Shamel Davis of Rocky Hill, Conn. He faces second-degree reckless endangerment, interfering with police, tampering with evidence, third-degree arson, and other charges.


Police haven’t said what Davis’s relationship is to the boy.

He’s being held on a $100,000 bond and will appear in Connecticut Superior Court in New Britain on Monday. It couldn’t be immediately determined if Davis has a lawyer.