4-Year-Old Boy Dead After Siblings Find Loaded Gun to Play With

Three North Carolina adults have been charged after two children found a loaded gun and one of them was shot and killed.

The 4-year-old boy was pronounced dead at the scene shortly after 4:30 p.m. Tuesday afternoon, WCNC reported.

The child’s parents and another relative who lived at the home were charged with involuntary manslaughter, felony child abuse, and storing a firearm in a manner accessible to children.

The Gaston County Police Department identified the suspets as Savannah Leigh Brehm, 22; Hector Manuel Mendoza, 21; and Keith Strughill, 21.

Police said the children who found the gun were siblings.

Conner Kring, property manager of the family’s home, said the family was “good people.”

“I just can’t imagine what they’re going through right now,” she added.

Police reminded residents to lock up their guns “where a child does not have access to it.”

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[Featured image: L-R, Savannah Leigh Brehm, Hector Manuel Mendoza, and Keith Strughill/Gaston County Police Department]