2-Year-Old Girl Dies After Being Shot by 4-Year-Old in San Bernardino: Sheriff's

A 2-year-old girl died after she was accidentally shot by her 4-year-old cousin in Muscoy Friday, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department said.

The child's grandfather, Cesar Lopez, 53, was arrested on suspicion of child endangerment after investigators allege he left the weapon in a place where the child could grab it. He was also arrested on suspicion of being a felon in possession of a firearm. 

Neighbors said they heard screams coming from the home early Friday.

"When they brought her out, they had a patch here over her chest," said neighbor Bubba Macbeth.

The San Bernardino County Fire Department responded at 9 a.m. to a call of a 2-year-old girl suffering from a gunshot wound in the 2700 block of Duffy Street in the Muscoy area. A 4-year-old boy, the victim's cousin, was found with the handgun, investigators said. The boy was crying as deputies took him away in a sheriff's vehicle, neighbors said. 

She was taken to the hospital, but did not survive. Family members identified her as Alia.

Adults were inside the home at the time of the shooting, and were cooperating with the sheriff's department for the investigation. 

The boy's mother was also questioned in the shooting, clearly overwhelmed by emotion as she sobbed outside her home.

"That was her only daughter. She was a good mom," neighbor Citlaoy Plascencia said.

Neighbors also said it was a horrible reminder about gun safety.

"Have a gun safe, if not a strong-armed box, with a lock on it so this type of situation won't ever happen again," neighbor Tywana Macbeth said.

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