The 3-year-old who was accidentally shot and killed their 1-year-old sibling Monday in Fallbrook, California, after getting a hold of an unsecured handgun has been identified, San Diego County Sheriff's deputies said.
Deputies received a call at around 7:30 a.m. at a residence in the 1100 block of S. Stagecoach Lane and once they got to the residence confirmed that a 3-year-old got ahold of an unsecured handgun. The 1-year-old, who was later identified as Jessa Osmera, was taken to Palomar Hospital for a head injury but was pronounced dead at around 8:30 a.m., SDSO Lt. Joseph Jarjura said.
The 3-year-old's name is not being released, deputies said.
It's not immediately clear if any parents were in the home at the time of the shooting. No other family members were injured.
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No arrests have been made.
Sheriff's Homicide investigators are working to gather more details on what led up to the shooting. There are "no outstanding suspects" and there are no threats to the community, deputies said.
The medical examiner’s office conducted an autopsy. The preliminary determination of the cause of death is gunshot wound to the head, and the death was ruled as a homicide, Jarjura said Thursday.
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Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call the Homicide Unit at (858) 285-6330.
NBC 7 spoke with an attorney Tuesday who said if the investigation determines negligence was involved, there are several criminal charges any adults involved could face.
As of July 12, there have been at least 217 unintentional shootings by children, which have resulted in 76 deaths and 149 injuries so far in 2023, according to a count by the gun control nonprofit Everytown for Gun Safety,
No other information was available.
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