3-year-old boy killed after 7-year-old brother finds gun in Ridgeland home on Halloween

A 3-year-old boy from Ridgeland was killed on Halloween in an accidental shooting incident involving an unsecured handgun inside the family’s home.

Investigators say the boy, whose name was not released, was accidentally shot once around 2 p.m. Tuesday by his 7-year-old brother, who had found the pistol in their mobile home at Carters Mill Estates. The boy was taken to Coastal Carolina Hospital, where he died of his injuries later that evening, according to reporting from Bluffton Today.

Ridgeland Chief of Police Richard Woods said the gun had not been properly secured inside the home. Tuesday’s tragedy was the first incident he could recall in which a child was shot and killed since the beginning of his tenure in 2002.

“It’s tragic ... and it was so easily preventable,” Woods told The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette on Friday. “I believe everyone should keep a gun inside the house, but you have to keep it locked up and secured.”

Woods said police may consider charges against the boys’ guardians, but the incident is still under investigation. South Carolina is one of 24 states without child access prevention laws, which can hold gun owners liable for failing to keep firearms inaccessible to minors.

The Jasper County Coroner’s Office did not immediately respond to messages left Friday with additional questions.