A 16-month-old boy has been fatally shot by his five-year-old sibling after the older child found a handgun in a north-western Indiana apartment.
The circumstances of Tuesday’s fatal shooting of Isiah Johnson remained under investigation on Thursday (local time) by the Lafayette Police Department, which does not plan to release additional information during the ongoing investigation, Captain Brian Phillips said.
Police said previously the shooting occurred when one adult and two children were inside the apartment in Lafayette, about 100 kilometres north of Indianapolis.
Phillips said the five-year-old sibling who shot Isiah gained access to a handgun in the apartment.
He declined to provide additional information about the sibling and said police were still investigating who owns that weapon.
An autopsy performed on Wednesday determined that Isiah died from a single gunshot wound. Final confirmation of his death is awaiting completion of the police investigation and toxicology reports, said Tippecanoe County Coroner Carrie Costello, the Journal & Courier reported.
Once police completed their shooting investigation, Captain Phillips said those findings would be forwarded to the Tippecanoe County Prosecutor’s Office for review and to determine if charges might be filed.
– AAP