10-Year-Old Son Of Corrections Officer Fatally Shot At Florida Apartment

A 10-year-old child of a Florida corrections officer was fatally shot at his apartment in Miami-Dade County on Thursday. The incident happened when other children were also present inside the house.

Authorities suspect the firearm was being handled by one of the children at the house when it accidentally discharged.

Miami-Dade Police responded to the house after 5:00 p.m. in the 600 block of Ives Dairy Road, where they found the child had suffered a gunshot wound to the torso. The minor was airlifted to a hospital where he was pronounced dead, NBC Miami reported.

"We have a 10-year-old child that lost his life because of a firearm that perhaps wasn't handled in a responsible way," Miami-Dade Police Director Alvaro Zabaleta told the outlet.

Police said the boy was home with his five other siblings, aged from 9 to 15, and no adults were there when the weapon was fired. The children's parents were reportedly at work when the incident occurred, according to NBC Miami.

Investigators said the boy's mother is a Miami-Dade Corrections officer.

7 News shared images captured from the scene which show the boy being stretchered to an ambulance. Police were yet to obtain a search warrant to recover the gun from which the ammunition was fired.

According to the outlet, investigators were trying to determine the details that led to the tragedy. "Who did it? Was it one of the siblings? Could he have been playing with the gun and shot himself?" MDPD detective Alvaro Zabaleta said, adding that those having firearms should brush up on their gun safety knowledge and act responsibly to avoid such incidents.

"We have to be responsible, and again, go back to education and go back to gun safety, because it's a great responsibility to have a firearm," Zabaleta told 7 News. "We need to know exactly how it occurred, and those are the questions that at this point remain unanswered."

Police said it was not yet known who fired the weapon. Detectives are questioning the deceased child's siblings to gather information about the shooting.

Officials didn't release the child's identity.