Child Shoots 4-Year-Old After Finding Illegal Gun

A 4-year-old Florida girl was left critically injured Sunday evening after her sibling found an illegally owned firearm in their Miami-Dade home and accidentally shot her in the head.

Officials with the Miami-Dade Police Department (MDPD) confirmed the incident in a statement on Monday morning, reporting that 25-year-old Quavanta Demettris Ennels was arrested in connection with the shooting. As a convicted felon, Ennels was not legally allowed to possess the firearm and was "charged accordingly," the MDPD confirmed in a statement to Newsweek.

In a study published in June in the scientific journal, Injury Epidemiology, around 90 percent of accidental shooting deaths in children under 15 in the United States involved unsecured firearms, which had been left somewhere unlocked and accessible, and left with ammunition loaded into them, with children either killing themselves or other children by accident. In 80 percent of these cases, the gun was found to have belonged to an older relative, and 40 percent involved children aged 2 to 4.

According to the official press statement from Detective Andre Martin, first responders were called to a home on the 8180 block of Northwest 21st Avenue after reports were received about a minor being shot. Arriving at the scene, the young girl was found with a gunshot wound. The child was rushed to Jackson Memorial's Ryder Trauma Center for treatment and was said to be in critical condition, the statement provided to Newsweek said.

"She is fighting for her life," Martin said about the young girl.

Officials ultimately deduced that the girl had been shot by another child, her sibling, in the home after they had found Ennels' gun, which had not been securely stored. The sibling's age has not been disclosed at this time, though officials did note that there were four children in the home at the time of the incident, ages 2, 3, 4, and 6. All four were reportedly in the same room when the gun was found in a backpack. An adult was also present in the home, but their identity has not been revealed. After finding the gun, the sibling then proceeded to accidentally shoot their sister in the head.

Speaking to the press, Martin stressed that gun ownership, while a constitutional right, confers immense responsibility for the safety of others, particularly children. He also urged community members to discuss gun safety with children and encourage them tell an adult when they see one, not to pick it up themselves.

"A firearm should be stored in a secured lock box, safe, or in a place that is not accessible to small children or any person who should not have access to a firearm," Martin said. "We urge each and every member in our community — whether you own a firearm or not — to discuss safe firearm management, ownership with your children. Guns are not toys."