A 5-year-old boy killed Saturday in Goodlettsville, was shot by his sibling, according to police.
Officials with Goodlettsville police said Andrew Turner was fatally shot at the Summerfield Place Apartments on Moss Trail just off Highway 41 and Rivergate Parkway.
Officers were called to the apartments just after 5:30 p.m. and said the young child was pronounced dead at the scene.
According to police, Turner was shot by one of his siblings.
It was the state's 20th accidental shooting of a child, and the 8th death, according to the Safe Tennessee Project.
The father and two children had apparently been watching TV in the living room prior to the incident. Police said he kept a weapon nearby for protection.
At some point, the father reportedly began playing with the family cat using a laser mounted on the gun. Police said he got up and forgot to move the weapon from the children’s reach.
The sibling picked up the gun and inadvertently pulled the trigger while trying to turn on the laser. The boy was struck and killed in the shooting.
The Davidson County District Attorney’s office is reviewing whether charges will be filed against the father in this case. Parents is Tennessee are almost never prosecuted in these cases due to state laws.
Tennessee ranks 9th in the country for accidental shootings.
