A 2-year-old boy in Indiana discovered a loaded handgun on Tuesday, while his mother was in the next room feeding a baby, according to police.
Indiana State Police say the gun reportedly went off.
Leighton Owings, 2, was hit by a single bullet and died at a hospital from his injuries.
Owings death is one among at least 270 unintentional shootings so far this year, resulting in a total of 109 deaths, by children 17 or younger in which they shot themselves or others, according to the organization Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, which is part of the nonprofit Everytown for Gun Safety.
“Storing guns locked, unloaded and separate from ammunition keeps guns out of kids’ hands and can save lives,” the groups report.
Owings “was smart, funny and fun to be around,” according to a GoFundMe post.
“He loves his family and loved life.”
Evidence suggests Leighton pulled the trigger on a 9-millimeter Ruger while his mother, Caci Seals, 22, fed her infant in a front room of the family’s North Main Street residence in Fairmount, according to the state police.
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The investigation into the death is ongoing.
According to Moms Demand Action, in early December, “an 11-year-old boy shot and killed himself while online learning at home in Woodbridge, California. A week earlier, a 12-year-old boy in Henderson, North Carolina shot and wounded a classmate of the same age at Henderson Middle School.”
“These heartbreaking shootings are a reminder of the consequences when children get a hold of unsecured guns.”