A 6-year-old North Carolina boy accidentally shot his younger brother, killing the boy, authorities announced last week.
The shooting happened on Oct. 8 in Greenville, about 85 miles east of Raleigh, said the Pitt County Sheriff’s Office in a news release.
Someone called the deputies just after 7 p.m. that night, and when authorities arrived, they found a 5-year-old child who had been shot in the head. The child, identified by the Pitt County Sheriff’s Office and Pitt County Schools as 5-year-old Karter Rosenboro, was taken to a hospital where he was eventually pronounced dead.
On Oct. 10, detectives arrested 72-year-old Rayfield Ruffin, who owned the gun and the home where the shooting took place. The sheriff’s office said he was charged due to a violation of statute 14-315.1 and failed to store the firearm to protect the children in the home.
Ruffin was released after posting an unsecured $2,000 bond.
“It was a terribly sad and tragic event,” wrote Sgt. Lee Darnell in an email to USA TODAY. He said Ruffin, the man arrested in connection to the case, is Karter’s great-grandfather.