On Tuesday, police officers in LaGrange, Georgia, reportedly said three children were involved in an accidental shooting.
“On Dec. 20, police responded to Kelley Street where they received reports of a person shot,” Fox 5 Atlanta reported. “When they got there, officers found a 15-year-old girl who said she was accidentally shot while arguing over a firearm with a 12-year-old who obtained it after he broke into a vehicle earlier in the day.”
“The girl, her brother and the 12-year-old were walking along the 1000 block of Borton Street when the fight broke out. The weapon was discharged, shooting the girl in the hand,” the outlet added.
The girl was taken to a local hospital for treatment. The boy was charged with entering auto, reckless conduct and possession of a firearm under 18.
The news comes amid an epidemic of gun violence involving children in Georgia.
In Atlanta, the number of children killed by gun violence so far in 2022 greatly exceeds the number killed in 2021, which was already a high number, according to a report from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“In 2021, more than two dozen children and teenagers were killed by gun violence in metro Atlanta and several others were injured. That violence has continued in 2022,” the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. “As of Dec. 4, there have been at least 71 children under the age of 18 shot. Of them at least 37 have died.”