A mother in southern Kentucky stepped outside of her home for just a few moments and in that short time her 5-year-old son accidentally shot to death his 2-year-old sister on Tuesday, according to reports.
The victim of the shooting, Caroline Starks, was in her home in Burkesville, KY with her older brother when their mother stepped outside of their home at about 1:00pm on Tuesday. In that short time, Caroline's 5-year-old brother managed to discharge one fatal shot from a rifle he received for his birthday.
The young girl was rushed to a local hospital, where CBS News reports doctors worked for an hour to try to save the girl's life but in the end were unsuccessful.
The Los Angeles Times reports that Cumberland County coroner Gary White performed an autopsy on Wednesday on Caroline Starks, the young victim. The autopsy revealed that the girl died from a single shot fired by a .22-caliber rifle. White says that the death has been ruled an accident that that no charges will be filed against the victim's brother.
"Most everybody in town is devastated by this," White said. "Nobody wants to take anyone's guns away, but you've got to keep them out of harm's way for the kids. It's a safety issue."
The rifle used in this tragic event was a single shot .22 caliber "youth rifle" designed by a company called Crickett and sold under the catch phrase "My First Rifle." Crickett markets the majority of its firearms to young children and offers them in a variety of colors from pink to rainbow.
"The little Crickett rifle is a single shot rifle and it has a child safety," White said. "This was just a tragic accident."
According to Kentucky officials it is believed that the gun fired in Tuesday's incident had a fully functional safety lock and that the lock was turned on. It's been reported that the children's parents were unaware that the weapon was loaded and believe that a bullet had been unintentionally left in the gun from the last time it was used.