Father Kills 2-Year-Old And Injures 4-Year-Old While 'Making His Gun Safe'

Story out of Richland County, South Carolina:

A South Carolina father told police he was attempting to “make his gun safe” when he accidentally fired the weapon Thursday evening, killing his 2-year-old daughter and injuring her 4-year-old sister.

The bullet struck Heaven Miller in her “upper body,” according to a statement released by police.

Deputies who responded to the Richland County residence attempted to keep the toddler alive by applying pressure to the wound and doing chest compressions as they waited for an ambulance, according to a sheriff’s department incident report cited by the State newspaper.

Richland County Coroner Gary Watts told the paper that Miller was transported to Palmetto Health Richland hospital, where she was pronounced dead several minutes after her arrival.

Watts told the paper that the same bullet also struck Miller’s older sister in the upper body. The child’s injury required surgery but is not considered life-threatening, he said.

The 30-year-old father, who has not been named by police, also suffered a wound to his hand when the gun went off, police said. He was on the porch of his residence at the Meredith Square apartments with his daughters when the shot was fired, according to CBS affiliate WLTX.

The State reported that the father was cleaning his gun when it misfired. “Right now, it just looks like an accidental shooting,” Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott told the paper. Cont.

Story from - The Washington Post