A mother in Southern California was arrested after her 12-year-old son accidentally shot and killed his twin brother. Gabriela Keeton of San Bernardino, pleaded not guilty to felony child endangerment during a court hearing Thursday (June 27).
According to investigators from the San Bernardino Police Department, one of the tween boys fired the weapon and mistakenly struck his twin brother in the upper body, KTLA reports. Police responded to the incident at around 7:30 p.m. local time Monday (June 25).
Keeton was arrested after investigators concluding that her son gained access to the “unsecured firearm” used to shoot his brother.
The boys were home alone and playing with the firearm. “It turns out that the weapon was possibly unsecured within the residence and the juvenile was able to retrieve the weapon, was playing with it in the residence and pointed it at the victim and accidentally fired a round,” San Bernardino police Sgt. John Echeverria said according to L.A.’s KABC-TV.
The victim was transported to a local hospital where he died. Keaton is being held on $100,000 bail.
See more on the deadly shooting below.