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11-year-old shoots 9-year-old brother in cheek in Plant City

 
Published July 2, 2015

PLANT CITY — Three young brothers broke into their mother's locked bedroom on Wednesday to obtain her new handgun, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, which led to an 11-year-old boy shooting his 9-year-old brother in the cheek with a .45-caliber pistol.

The 9-year-old boy, the youngest of the brothers, was taken to a hospital. He was listed as being in serious condition and was expected to survive. The children and their mother were not identified by deputies.

According to the Sheriff's Office, the brothers — ages 9, 11 and 13 — were home alone at 5720 Turkey Tree Lane.

Their mother had recently obtained a .45-caliber semiautomatic pistol from a friend and kept it in her bedroom, deputies said. To secure the firearm, deputies said she locked the bedroom door with a padlock and hasp.

Around 1 p.m., the three boys broke into the bedroom by removing the hasp from the door. They took the gun outside and played with it, deputies said.

Then they returned home and fell asleep in their bedroom. Sometime later, the 11-year-old fired the gun, deputies said, striking his 9-year-old brother in the face.

Sheriff's spokesman Larry McKinnon said investigators were still piecing together what happened and would not release the names of those involved until they determine whether criminal charges will be filed.