HOUSTON – A 9-year-old boy was shot and killed Wednesday in an apparent accidental shooting at an apartment in northwest Houston, according to police.

Police said two 9-year-old cousins were handling a gun at a unit at the Montabella at Oak Forest apartments in the 4000 block of West 34th Street.

Police said the gun fired and one of the boys was shot in the arm or chest around 3 p.m. Police said it appears that the cousins were at the apartment alone.

“There was some kind of interaction where they had the gun. It doesn’t appear that it was intentional. It appears to be a tragic accident,” Lt. Larry Crowson with the Houston Police Department said.

The gun appears to be legally registered, according to police.

The boy was taken to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Crowson said it is not clear who called 911 to report the shooting.

“Our investigators are on scene and contacting the family members, are interviewing them and once they interview all the family members and any other witnesses they have, they’ll contact the District Attorney to see if there will be any charges,” Crowson said.

In the state of Texas, a 9-year-old child can't be charged with a crime, but police said there is a possibility that the parents of the children could face charges for leaving them home alone.