SANTAQUIN, Utah — A 5-year-old boy has died after accidentally shooting himself in his Santaquin home Thursday, police said.
Santaquin police said first responders administered life-saving measures on the boy after arriving at the home, but the boy later died at the scene.
The unidentified boy was able to get a hold of the gun in the house in the area of Santaquin Canyon Road before accidentally firing one round.
The child was found wounded in the back bedroom with a 9mm handgun. Officials said the parents were in a separate room when the gun discharged.
"At this time, we're not pursuing charges and we're deeming this a tragic incident," said Santaquin Police Det. Cody Tipler.
How the child was able to access the already-loaded gun remains under investigation.
"The best practice is, is if you have a gun lock of some sort, always keep your gun unloaded and your ammo away from your gun, put your gun inside of a safe," said the detective.
According to the Associated Press, Utah does not have any laws to penalize someone for failing to secure an unattended firearm and leaving it accessible to an unsupervised minor. The state also does not require unattended firearms to be stored in a certain way or require a locking device to be sold with a firearm.
Tipler added there has already been a large amount of support for the family, including from the church community and surrounding neighbors.
