5-year-old kills his sister, 2, with 'My First Rifle'

By Ruth Brown, Newser staff | USATODAY

It was "just one of those crazy accidents," in the words of the local coroner: A 5-year-old in Cumberland County, Ky., accidentally shot and killed his 2-year-old sister yesterday with a .22-caliber rifle.

But unlike many suchtragedies, the rifle in this case actually belonged to the child, the Lexington Herald-Leader reports. The gun, which he received as a gift last year, was inadvertently left loaded with a single shell in a corner of the family's home.

"It's a Crickett," said coroner Gary White of the gun marketed to youths with the slogan "My First Rifle." He continued, "It's a little rifle for a kid ... The little boy's used to shooting the little gun."

White told WKYT that the children's mother was home when the shooting occurred: "She was actually cleaning, and she had went out on the porch. She said no more than three minutes had went by and she actually heard the rifle go off. She ran back in and found the little girl."

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