PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A 4-year-old girl died after she was shot inside a northeast Philadelphia home, and investigators say they consider it “extremely unlikely” that she fired the weapon herself, authorities said Tuesday.
Officers were called late Monday to Jefferson-Torresdale Hospital, where police said the girl had been taken by private car. Officials say she had a gunshot wound to the abdomen and was pronounced dead early Tuesday at the hospital.
Police say the girl, whose name wasn’t released, was shot inside the home near the Northeast Philadelphia Airport, where her parents and another man and woman were. A .357 revolver with five live rounds was recovered from a living room sofa, and there was one spent cartridge casing, police said.
No charges were immediately filed, but police said that the round was fired from inside the property and that “the investigation has determined that it is extremely unlikely that the victim shot herself.”
Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said in a statement that the death of a young person was especially tragic “particularly when it is the result of the irresponsible handling of a firearm.”
Homicide investigators are “working diligently to ascertain all of the facts and help ensure justice” for the victim, she said.
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