Indiana father accidentally shoots and kills 6-year-old daughter while cleaning gun

An Indiana six-year-old was shot and killed by her father Friday when his gun accidentally discharged during a cleaning.

The Washington County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement it received a call late Friday night from a Washington County, Ind. home that Makayla S. Bowling had been shot in the head.

Police said her father was cleaning a handgun that he thought was unloaded when it discharged and struck the grade-schooler.

She was transported by air ambulance to the Norton Children’s Hospital in Louisville, Ken., about 45 miles away, where she succumbed to her injuries.

Indiana State Police Detectives do not suspect foul play, though the incident is under investigation.

Bowling is survived by her parents, a brother and two sisters, according to her obituary.

Bowling’s death closely echoes that of the Florida 14-year-old who was accidentally shot by his father at a gun range in July 2016, as well as the Ohio 2-year-old who was accidentally shot and killed by his 13-year-old brother last year.

Just last month, an 18-year-old in the Bronx shot and killed himself by accident after he stumbled while playing with a friend’s gun and struck himself in the chest.

A study by the Associated Press and USA Today network in 2016 found that during the first six months of the year, a minor was killed in an accidental shooting once every other day.