Boy, 5, Dies After Shooting Himself in the Face As Uncle Played Video Games

A 5-year-old boy died after he found an unsecured handgun and shot himself while his uncle played video games, according to reports.

Detroit police said the victim had been with his 7-year-old brother on the 19000 block of Oakfield Avenue at the time of the shooting at about 10:30 p.m. on August 22.

Police said the shooting happened while the boy's 29-year-old uncle was drinking and playing video games in a different part of the home.

Kimberly and Darrell Story, who live close to the home, said the uncle woke them up when he knocked on their door while holding the bleeding child.

Darrell Story told the network: "We jumped in the car, and we did everything we could. I wouldn't have done anything different."

Kimberly Story later added: "I was driving and the only thing I could think of was 'keep that child alive. He [the uncle] was just holding that child close to his chest, [he] didn't say a lot."

The 5-year-old was later pronounced dead after he arrived at the hospital, according to Fox2.

According to the Gun Violence Archive, a database that collects information about shootings from across the U.S., three children aged 11 and under have been fatally shot in Detroit this year.

The same database found that 12 children had been shot dead across the state of Michigan since January 1 this year.

Detroit police are now set to bring charges against the uncle and repeated a call for gun owners to take proper care of their firearms.

Detroit Police Department (DPD) Chief James White said during a press conference following the shooting: "We have an obsession with guns, and if you are going to partake in this obsession of weapons you need to partake in the responsibility of securing the weapon. That's it, period."

He later added: "This is negligence."

Newsweek has contacted the DPD for comment.

There have been numerous cases across the U.S. where children have accidentally shot themselves after they found a firearm.

Earlier this year a 3-year-old in Milwaukee died after he accidentally shot himself, according to police.

The boy was first taken to a hospital where he died at about 5 a.m.

A 28-year-old woman was arrested in connection with the shooting.

Mayor Cavalier Johnson said in a tweet following the shooting: "I am disturbed by all gun deaths in Milwaukee, but when the victim is a 3-year-old, I am horrified.

"There are too many guns in the hands of people who should not have them. All weapons must be locked and secured in a home."