8-year-old Florida boy shoots dead baby girl while playing with father’s gun

An 8-year-old boy from Florida, US, accidentally killed a 1-year-old girl and injured his 2-year-old sister while playing with his father’s gun.

The incident took place on Saturday night at Lion’s Motel in Escambia County, leading to the arrest of the boy’s father, Roderick Randall, who is a convicted felon, police said.

Randall was charged with culpable negligence, unlawful possession of a firearm and concealment of evidence, Escambia County Sheriff Chip Simmons said, reports AFP.

The tragedy took place when Rendall met with his girlfriend. He brought his son while his girlfriend had brought along her two-year-old twins and her one-year-old daughter.

The son found the weapon in the closet after his father went out, while the woman was asleep. The boy then took out the weapon and started playing with it during which he accidentally fired it.

"He pulls the gun from the holster, starts playing with it and fires a round into the one-year-old toddler, ultimately killing the one-year-old. The bullet then goes through and strikes one of the two-year-old toddlers who's injured but is expected to recover,” Simmons told reporters.

According to Simmons, when Randall returned to the room after the shooting, he grabbed the gun and drugs and left before the police arrived. He was arrested Sunday.

According to police, the 45-year-old is a 14-time convicted felon, whose record includes sentences for drugs charges, aggravated battery and evading police.

Simmons was released from the county jail Sunday night after posting $41,000 bond.

"Every year, hundreds of children in the United States gain access to unsecured, loaded guns in closets and nightstand drawers, in backpacks and purses, or just left out," according to a recent report by Everytown For Gun Safety.