A 9-year-old girl in Washington is now recovering after being shot in the leg Wednesday by her brother. Two other girls fatally shot by their brothers this week in Kentucky and Alaska were not so lucky.

An 8-year-old boy in Mountain Village, Ala., killed his 5-year-old sister with a rifle on Monday. A 5-year-old boy in Cumberland County, Ky., fatally shot his 2-year-old sister on Tuesday with a youth rifle that was given to him as a gift.

The 9-year-old girl in Auburn, Wash., was taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle after she was shot by her 7-year-old brother Wednesday night. The boy allegedly found the .22 caliber rifle in another brother’s closet.

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"He was playing with it," said Auburn Police Cmdr. Mike Hirman. "It was a loaded rifle, and it went off."

No charges have been filed yet in the case, but police are investigating whether the children were home alone at the time of the shooting. The girl is expected to make a full recovery.

The siblings in Alaska were home alone when the 5-year-old girl was shot and killed by her 8-year-old brother with a .22 caliber rifle on Monday afternoon. The boy had used the Ruger 10/22 to go hunting the day before.

“The 8-year-old had been left at the residence,” said Alaska State Trooper spokeswoman Megan Peters. “And in a span of about 15 minutes, (his) 5-year-old sister came in and it was in that short amount of time that this tragedy occurred.”

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“It just goes to show you how much can go wrong in such a short amount of time,” she added. “It’s a very big tragedy for the family, of course.”

No charges have been filed in the case, but the Alaska Office of Children’s Services and the Bethel District Attorney’s officer were contacted, Peters said.

Another boy shot and killed his little sister, Caroline Starks, in Cumberland County, Ky., Tuesday afternoon. The 5-year-old boy was given the .22-caliber “youth” rifle as a gift. His parents claim the rifle was usually kept in a corner and no one realized a shell had been left in it.

"It's a Crickett," said Cumberland County Coroner Gary White. "It's a little rifle for a kid ... The little boy's used to shooting the little gun."

Their mother was home at the time of the shooting. Caroline’s death was considered accidental.

"Just one of those crazy accidents," White said.

Sources: Alaska Public Media, Komo News

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