A 4-year-old boy was fatally shot while holding his parents' gun at his home in Merrillville, Indiana, police said.

Police said the boy found the gun in his parents' bedroom Saturday morning in the 6400 block of Cleveland Street and brought the gun back to his room.

The gun then went off, striking the boy in the head, Merrillville police said.

The boy, identified as Cash Irby Jr., was taken to Broadway Methodist Hospital South where he was pronounced dead, according to the Lake County Coroner's office.

"[The parents] are devastated, as can be expected," said family member Kelly White-Gibson. "The mother is really distraught."

Family members said they're not sure how the boy managed to find the gun as it was stored on a high shelf in a closet.

The parents and two other children, ages 1 and 4, were home at the time of the shooting.