North Miami

10-year-old dies after apparently accidentally shooting himself in North Miami

The gun was registered to the child's father, who was home at the time of the shooting, police said.

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A 10-year-old child died after apparently accidentally shooting himself in North Miami Monday night, police said.

The shooting happened around 8 p.m. in a neighborhood in the area of Northwest 140th Terrace and 5th Place.

Police said they responded to reports of a juvenile with a gunshot wound and found the child who was rushed to the hospital.

Family members at the scene said the child, who was 10 years old, had died.

At a news conference Tuesday, North Miami Police Chief Cherise Gause confirmed the child had died.

Gause said the child's injury appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound and that it appears it was an accident.

The gun was registered to the child's father, who was home at the time of the shooting, Gause said.

"This is a tragic incident that we don't want to see anybody in our community go through," Gause said. "This is an incident that can certainly be avoided if we practice safe storage of firearms especially when children are involved."

Gause said nobody has been detained in the shooting so far and charges aren't pending but the incident is being reviewed by the state attorney's office.

The incident is the second apparently accidental shooting in the past few days involving a minor in Miami-Dade. On Sunday, a 3-year-old accidentally shot herself in the hand with a gun that was left unattended in a southwest Miami-Dade home.

Check back with NBC6 for updates.

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