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San Diego Sheriff: 12-year-old boy accidentally shoots 12-year-old cousin in Fallbrook

According to authorities, a 12-year-old boy found a loaded handgun and accidentally shot his 12-year-old cousin inside a mobile home.

SAN DIEGO — A child who found his uncle's handgun while they were packing up for a family trip in a Fallbrook-area neighborhood this afternoon accidentally shot his 12-year-old cousin, sending her to a hospital with an apparently non-life-threatening wound.

The two children were inside a parked motor home in front of a house in the 900 block of Santa Margarita Drive when the boy, also 12, came across the 9 mm pistol about 1:30 p.m., according to sheriff's officials.

As the boy handled the firearm, it went off, sending a round into the girl's left shoulder, Lt. Ricardo Lopez said.

Medics airlifted the victim to Rady Children's Hospital.

"Deputies handling the initial investigation determined the shooting was accidental," Lopez said. "Detectives are handling the follow-up investigation regarding the storage of the firearm and the circumstances of how it was obtained by the (boy)."

It was not immediately clear if the owner of the pistol will face a negligence-related criminal charge in connection with the shooting.

Credit: KFMB

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