A 7-year-old boy has died after he was shot in the head by his brother inside their family's vehicle.
Officers with the Crossville Police said the shooting happened shortly before 3 p.m. Monday in the parking lot of a business along US HWY 127 North.
According to police, four children were left alone in a vehicle while their mother and step-father went inside a store to a pay a bill.
One of the children found the gun in the mother's purse and tried to remove to the magazine to unlock it.
However, the gun fired and struck his seven-year-old brother in the head. The boy was flown to a Knoxville area hospital where he died.
“There's always a danger leaving a child in the car because they can pull it into neutral or anything else,” Crossville Police Chief Rodney Shoap told Local 8 Now. “Things just happen.”
The Cumberland County District Attorney General’s office and the Department of Children’s Services have been notified and are involved in the investigation.
Police said the incident appeared to be a tragic accidental shooting. However, it’s not known if the parents would face charges.
