12-year-old Columbus boy killed in gun accident

COLUMBUS, Miss. (AP) - A 12-year-old boy in Noxubee County has been killed in what appears to be a gun accident.

Coroner R.L. Calhoun tells the Commercial Dispatch (https://bit.ly/2igIuZj ) the child, Spencer Bennett Jr., died at a friend’s home in Noxubee County on Thursday after a high-powered rifle discharged.

Bennett had just returned from hunting with a friend and an adult shortly after 6 p.m. Calhoun says they apparently were passing around the firearm when it discharged accidentally. He says Bennett was shot in the upper abdomen and died at the scene.

Bennett’s body will be taken to medical examiners at the State Crime Lab in Jackson who will most likely perform an autopsy.

So far, no charges have been filed.

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Information from: The Commercial Dispatch, https://www.cdispatch.com