CROSSVILLE (WATE) — A 7-year-old boy has died after being shot by another child inside a parked car in Crossville Monday afternoon, police say.
The Crossville Police Department says four children were left alone inside a car in the parking lot of a Verizon store around 3:15 p.m. while their mother and stepfather went inside to pay a bill. The family is from White County.
One child found a semi-automatic pistol left inside the mother’s purse and accidentally shot a 7-year-old boy also in the car, according to police, while trying to remove the magazine to unload it.
Police found the boy bleeding from his head. He was flown to a Knoxville trauma center for medical treatment where police say he died.
Officials are calling the incident a tragic accidental shooting, but are still investigating.