5-Year-Old Fatally Shoots 16-Month-Old Brother Inside Apartment

A 5-year-old child fatally shot their 16-month-old sibling with a gun found inside an Indiana residence.

Officials identified the victim as Isiah Johnson and said no arrests were made immediately after his death.

The shooting unfolded Tuesday at the Romney Meadows Apartments complex in Lafayette. Police were informed at around 3 p.m. about a child not breathing inside one of the apartments, Lafayette police Lt. Matt Gard said.

Upon arrival, responding officers found the toddler deceased with a gunshot wound, according to AP News. Investigators soon found that the 5-year-old sibling pulled the trigger.

"Detectives with the Lafayette Police Department determined that the child was shot by his five-year-old sibling, who was able to gain access to a weapon in the apartment," police said in a statement.

Gard said there was an adult present inside the apartment when officers arrived. "There was one adult and two children inside the apartment," he told Journal & Courier.

Gard also mentioned that the 911 call did not come from inside the apartment. Somebody from outside the apartment reported the child not breathing. First responders also did not perform resuscitation at the scene.

"When I arrived on scene, I don't believe any life-saving measures were taken," Gard told the outlet.

The coroner's office announced Wednesday afternoon that Johnson's preliminary cause of death was a gunshot wound but listed the manner of death as pending until toxicology reports and the police investigation are complete.

Details about how the older sibling got their hands on the gun or whether the adult is facing any charges were not immediately released. It is also unclear whether the shot was accidentally fired.

"This is an ongoing investigation, and we have no additional information to release at this time," Capt. Brian Phillips of the Lafayette Police Department told NBC News.

A similar incident was reported last year after a 10-year-old boy accidentally shot his 8-year-old brother while playing with a gun inside their family home in Texas. The two brothers were alone with their 13-year-old sibling when the 10-year-old shot the younger sibling in his upper torso in the only bedroom of the house. The child was pronounced dead at the scene.