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Police: 3-year-old child dies after taking gun from unlocked case, shooting himself

(File photo. Alexandra Go/ WUFT News)
(File photo. Alexandra Go/ WUFT News)

Gainesville police detectives are investigating an incident Wednesday night that left a three-year-old child dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Officers and emergency medical services responded just before 6 p.m. on Wednesday to Lamplighter Mobile Home Community, 5200 NE 39th Ave.

"Initial investigation revealed the victim obtained a firearm from an unlocked gun case/tool box in the home," Gainesville police wrote in a press release. "The victim was playing with the firearm when it went off, striking him. Two other juveniles witnessed the incident."

The child, whose name is not being released, was taken to the hospital and died from the gunshot injury.

A 2015 National Firearms Survey found that about a fifth of U.S. households with firearms and children keep guns loaded and unlocked.

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