A toddler was killed in the parking lot of a shopping center in Rancho Cucamonga on Monday in what authorities called a “gun-related accident” involving the child’s 7-year-old brother.
San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputies responded at 3:53 p.m. to a report of a shooting in a parking lot of the Foothill Crossing Shopping Center in the 8200 block of Day Creek Boulevard, and found a 2-year-old boy with a gunshot wound, according to the Sheriff’s Department.
The child was transported to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Deputies determined that before the shooting, the toddler and his 7-year-old brother were inside a truck when the older child found a firearm in the glove box.
Officials did not say whether the boys were alone in the truck.
The names of the children were not released.
Anyone with information related to the shooting is urged to contact the the sheriff’s Specialized Investigations Division at (909) 890-4904. Anonymous tips can be submitted at (800) 782-7463 or at wetip.com.
The National Violent Death Reporting System analyzed data from 2003 to 2021 and found that the largest percentage of unintentional firearm deaths in the U.S. — 33% — occurred among children ages 11 to 15, followed by children 0-5 (29%).
Last year the CDC reported that approximately one-half of unintentional firearm injury deaths among children and adolescents occurred at their home. Playing with or showing the firearm to another person was the most common precipitator.
Nearly one-half (44.6%) of firearms inflicting the fatal injury belonged to a parent of the shooter, according to the CDC.
