Child, 9, ‘fatally shoots a family member in the head’
A nine-year-old child allegedly shot dead an adult family member at their home in Utah.
The child was arrested after shooting a male family member in the head, police said on Tuesday.
Police responded to reports of a man bleeding from his head and unconscious at the family’s home in Tooele on Friday night, said police Cpl Colbey Bentley.
The 32-year-old man was rushed to a hospital in Salt Lake County in ‘extremely’ critical condition, and died from his injuries over the weekend, Bentley said.
An investigation into the incident led to the child’s arrest.
Cops have not provided details on the exact family relationship that the victim and suspect had. Neither has been identified.
Bentley noted the ‘extremely sensitive nature’ of the case. The corporal who has worked in law enforcement for eight years said neither he nor his colleagues had ever dealt with such a crime involving a nine-year-old.
‘The impact (is being) felt not just by the family, but the community in general,’ said Bentley, according to KSL News.
‘This is something that’s such an outlier that we’ve never dealt with before… We’re trying to figure out how to cope with it and properly investigate it.’
The child has not been charged.
Police are in the early stages of the investigation, Bentley said, and declined to release further details on the events leading up to the shooting. Bentley would not say whether the case is being investigated as a homicide.
The man was found near 380 W Millcreek Way in Tooele, which is about 35 miles southwest of Salt Lake City.
Cops said there is no threat to the public.
The fatal shooting comes about four months after an 11-year-old boy was charged with shooting two youth football teammates over a bag of chips. The boy allegedly grabbed his mother’s gun and shot teenage players at a recreation complex in Apopka, Florida. One victim was struck in the torso and the other in the arm, and both were hospitalized in stable condition.
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