Boy Kills 8-Year-Old Brother by Mistake

He thought loaded handgun was a BB gun, police say
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Mar 2, 2014 6:43 PM CST
Boy Shoots, Kills 8-Year-Old Brother
Cincinnati police remove a witness after authorities say Sammy Lorenz, 8, was shot and killed while playing with a gun in Cincinnati, Saturday, March 1, 2014.   (AP Photo/The Cincinnati Enquirer, Tony Jones)

An 8-year-old Cincinnati boy was fatally shot in the chest yesterday while one of his brothers was playing with a loaded handgun that he thought was a BB gun, police said. Cincinnati police Lt. Don Luck said that three brothers were visiting their uncle in the city's Price Hill neighborhood when they found the loaded gun and one pulled the trigger, striking Sammy Lorenzo in the chest. The boy was taken to Cincinnati Children's Hospital and rushed into surgery, but later died.

One of the brothers "kept telling the story of how it happened, over and over again," Luck said. "It's so sad." Luck said that no charges are expected against the children. He said it was too early to tell whether charges will be filed against any adults. An unidentified adult was in the house at the time, but wasn't in the room when the boy was shot, police said. Cincinnati homicide detectives are investigating. (More shooting stories.)

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