Boy, 6, dies after being shot in the head by nine-year-old child while an adult was with them in their home in Florida

A six-year-old boy has been shot dead by a nine-year-old in Jacksonville, Florida on Monday.

The incident occurred around 2:45 p.m. at a home in the Duclay neighborhood on Shady Pine Street South.

Police believe an adult was present with the children along with a third child, also nine years old. 

Assistant Chief J.D. Stronko from Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said the victim, who was shot in the head, was taken to hospital but tragically died. 

‘Initial investigation determined the two juveniles were located inside of the residence in the care of an adult,’ Stronko said. 

‘One of the juveniles was able to obtain a firearm and fired a single shot striking the victim. There is no indication of criminal violence.’

The names and relations of those involved have not yet been disclosed and the investigation is ongoing.

Police said the adult who was present had been taken in for questioning but no charges had been filed. 

Neighbors told News4Jax of their heartbreak in the aftermath of the incident. 

‘It’s terrible, terrible. It breaks my heart,’ an anonymous neighbor said. 

‘I always tell my kids and teach them not to touch my gun’ the neighbor explained.

Neighbors told the broadcaster the house had been rented out several times and they were not sure who the current occupiers are. 

Three other children have died as a result of accidental shootings in Florida this year, according to data compiled by the Florida Department of Children and Families.

In February a three-year-old child in Volusia County died after he accidentally shot himself when he gained access to the weapon.

Just a few weeks later a four-year-old child from Orange County died after accidentally shooting himself when picking up a weapon while visiting his father and his father’s paramour.

The most recent incident until Monday was when a two-year-old child was pronounced deceased in Broward County after she sustained a gunshot wound while playing with the loaded weapon.

There have been fifteen children shot in Jacksonville this year too, according to News4Jax data. 

A representative for the Nationwide Children’s Hospital told the broadcaster parents aren’t doing enough to prevent children accessing their weapons. 

‘If your child is going to visit a friend’s house or a relative’s house go ahead and ask: “are there firearms in the home? And if there are, how are they stored?”‘ Nichole Michaels, a principal investigator with The Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, advised. 

‘Normalizing it so that parents are asking about firearms, the same way that they ask about allergies in the home or pets in the home, you know, just making those conversations really normal, can go a long way toward, you know, opening up these discussions and preventing these tragedies from happening’ she added.