A 2-year-old boy was killed after a 4-year-old relative found a handgun in a car and shot the toddler when they were arriving at an Airbnb for a family vacation in Florida on Sunday, police said.
The tragedy unfolded just before 4 p.m. in Kissimmee when the older child grabbed an unsecured firearm belonging to the victim’s mother in the vehicle outside the vacation rental home, Osceola County Sheriff’s Office (OCSO) said Monday.
Emergency services rushed the toddler to Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children in Orlando, where he was later pronounced dead.
The family are believed to have traveled from Louisville, GA, to stay at the Airbnb, police said, adding that they are still working to establish the exact relation between the two children.
“As they arrived at their destination, the two-year-old was left in the car and a four-year-old family member entered the vehicle and located an unsecured, unholstered handgun,” an OCSO spokesperson said.
“Family members were outside of the car and had not yet entered the home, when they heard a gunshot coming from inside the vehicle.”
One family member was also taken to hospital with chest pains amid the extreme distress caused by the incident, the spokesperson said.
Police have yet to speak with the 4-year-old but the family have been cooperative and are free to come and go, the spokesperson added.
The homicide unit attended the scene and the Medical Examiner’s Office and the Department of Children and Families was notified, while the investigation remains ongoing.
The sheriff’s office said charges are possible, pending a conversation with the state attorney.
The tragedy comes after 5-year-old twin girls, also from Georgia, drowned last month in a swimming pool at a short-term rental in Kissimmee, according to WESH 2 News.
The girls were airlifted to Arnold Palmer Hospital around 11 a.m. on June 12 and were later pronounced dead there.
