4-Year-Old Boy Shoots And Kills 6-Year-Old Playmate

Investigators in New Jersey are looking to find out how the boy got hold of a loaded .22 caliber rifle.

Under New Jersey law, gun owners are required to keep loaded weapons out of the hands of minors, but the 4-year-old living on a cul de sac in Toms River, N.J., was able to wander into his house Monday evening as his parents were outside. He came back out with the loaded weapon, a shot went off, and a bullet entered the head of 6-year-old Brandon Holt, who was sitting in a go-kart outside.

Brandon died Tuesday evening in a hospital, police said, as neighbors in the quiet community 70 miles south of New York City described how a warm Monday evening had turned chaotic. According to their accounts, and those of Police Chief Michael Mastronardy, parents of both the boys, who live along the same street in Toms River, were outside with the children as they played.

It is unclear whether the younger boy intentionally pulled the trigger or the gun went off accidentally. Mastronardy said the 4-year-old was about 45 feet away from Brandon when the shot rang out.

By: MR. RIGHT