smfh

A 4-year-old boy fatally shot a 3-year-old girl at a home on Indianapolis' west side Thursday, leading police to arrest the girl's mother on child neglect and drug charges in what officers termed a very tragic incident.

Fiona Lee.... 26, faces one count of felony child neglect, along with charges of possession of ? and possession of marijuana, after police were called to the home in the 200 block of North Sheffield Avenue just before 1 p.m.

Investigators found that the child, Aunesti Lee Allen, had been shot in the head.

Indianapolis police Lt. Jeff Duhamell said that Lee was upstairs and that four children were downstairs -- three of them hers, along with her boyfriend's 4-year-old son.

"She heard a shot, and she ran downstairs, and … the 4-year-old … had picked up the gun and pointed it at the 3-year-old, pulling the trigger," Duhamell said.

The gun had been left unattended on a kitchen counter, investigators said.

"(The gun) was easily accessible to the children," Duhamell said. "The mother had walked by it several times, however did not secure it."

The girl was rushed to Riley Hospital for Children and was pronounced dead just after 4:30 p.m.

http://www.theindychannel.com/news/24449838/detail.html



"These children had been known to play … with play guns," Duhamell said. "He probably thought it was a play gun and pulled the trigger."

According to a police report, officers found marijuana cigarette butts, along with a bag and a digital scale with ? residue, prompting the drug charges.

"It's heartbreaking. She's a little girl, and she had so much ahead of her," said neighbor Maria Carmona. "She was only 3 years old. It's a loss to the family. It's a loss to the neighborhood."