Police say a 2-year-old boy accidentally shot and killed his 11-year-old sister in their Mantua home while their mother was just down the hall in the bathroom.
Investigators say 11-year-old Jamara Stevens was killed when she and her three siblings, a 14-year-old boy, 7-year-old girl and 2-year-old boy, were playing with a .357 caliber handgun with an 8-inch barrel in their home on the 3800 block of Wallace Street just before 10 a.m. Saturday.
Tiffany Goldwire and her four children were in her bedroom, when she went to use the bathroom, according to police.
At that point, the kids located the loaded firearm, which was left on top of the refrigerator by the mother’s boyfriend who visited the home earlier that morning, and the eldest child retrieved it, according to reports.
While playing with the weapon, the 2-year-old boy pointed the loaded, cocked gun in the direction of his 11-year-old sister and it discharged, striking her in the arm, according to authorities.
Investigators say the bullet then traveled through her chest, hitting her heart.
The girl was taken to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia where she was pronounced dead at 10:20 a.m.
The surviving children and Goldwire were taken to police headquarters, where the mother was questioned for nearly five hours, according to reports.
No charges have been filed as homicide detectives continue to investigate.