Toddler Shoots 9-Year-Old Sister Dead With Gun Left on Nightstand

A toddler shot and killed his older sister in Alabama over the weekend while the two were reportedly playing in the bedroom of their grandfather, where a loaded pistol lay unlocked on the nightstand.

The three-year-old boy fired the pistol at his sister, 9-year-old Kimberly Reylander, a third grader who loved art and singing at church. Family members who were at home at the time of the shooting are not believed to have known there was a gun in the bedroom where the children were playing.

Irondale Police Chief Ken Atkinson told AL.com that the girl’s death is still under investigation. Reylander will be laid to rest on Wed., Feb. 10.

The Washington Post released an investigation last year that found 43 instances of toddler-related shootings in 2015. So far this year, there have been at least five individuals have been injured by toddlers firing guns.

[AL.com]