By Dominic Taylor-
A one-year-old girl has been shot dead by an eight-year-old boy who found his father’s gun at a Florida motel.
Escambia County Sheriff Chip Simmons said the shooting happened on Sunday , adding that the girl’s two-year-old sister had also been injured in the incident.
Mr Simmons said the boy’s father had left the gun in his Pensacola motel room wardrobe.
After he left the room, his son found it and fired a round that passed through and killed the infant and struck the toddler.
Last year, there were at least 379 unintentional shootings by children nationwide, resulting in 154 deaths and 244 injuries, the group said.
On this occasion, the father was staying at the motel with a girlfriend, who was asleep at the time, Mr Simmons said.
Roderick Dwayne Randall, 45, is charged with being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, two counts of culpable negligence by storing a firearm within easy of a minor resulting in injuries, tampering with evidence and failure to store a firearm in a required manner.
He was arrested and later released on $41,000 bond.
“We have got to do better with treating our children,” Simmons said.
According to data analysed by advocacy group Everytown for Gun Safety, so far this year there have been at least 126 unintentional shootings by children in the U.S., resulting in 55 deaths and 78 injuries.