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Boy (3) shoots self dead after finding gun in father’s shop

Police say father’s attention was diverted when child located gun under cash register

A map shows the location of Lumberton, North Carolina, where a boy aged three accidentally shot himself after finding a gun. File photograph: Google Street View
A map shows the location of Lumberton, North Carolina, where a boy aged three accidentally shot himself after finding a gun. File photograph: Google Street View
Mon Jan 11 2016 - 19:57

A three-year-old boy has died after accidentally shooting himself with a handgun he found behind the counter of his father’s convenience store.

Officers were called to the shop in Lumberton, North Carolina, at about 11am on Sunday.

Police Capt Terry Parker said the boy was at the store with his father, Manal Abdelziz of Laurinburg. The boy's name was not released.

Capt Parker said the boy found the gun under the cash register. He said the father’s attention had been diverted momentarily.

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The boy was taken to Southeastern Regional Medical Center in Lumberton where he was pronounced dead.

Police said the Robeson County District Attorney’s Office will decide whether charges are filed. It is illegal to have an unsecured gun in the presence of a child.

Press Association