MARRERO, La. – The Latest on the death of a 5-year-old Louisiana boy whom authorities say was accidentally shot and killed by his 9-year-old brother (all times local):
2:40 p.m.
The mother of a 5-year-old Louisiana boy whom authorities say died after his 9-year-old brother accidentally shot him in the head has been arrested on a charge of child desertion.
Col. John Fortunato, a spokesman for the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office, says 29-year-old Generra Brown was arrested on the charge because she left the children unsupervised at a Marrero home before the Tuesday evening shooting that killed her son Melvin Brady.
Fortunato says investigators believe that Brown, a home health care professional, was caring for a neighbor across the street when her 9-year-old son found a loaded gun and shot his brother once.
The 5-year-old was found in a bedroom closet with a gunshot wound to the head and pronounced dead at the scene.
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6:13 a.m.
A 5-year-old child outside New Orleans has died after authorities say his 9-year-old brother accidentally shot him in the head.
Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office Commander John Fortunato says in a statement that deputies responded Tuesday evening to a report of a child shot at a Marrero home.
Deputies found 5-year-old Melvin Brady in a bedroom closet with a gunshot wound to his head. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Fortunato says that according to a preliminary investigation, the victim and his 9-year-old brother were playing in the closet when the two discovered a handgun. As the older brother handled the handgun, it discharged once, striking the younger child.
At the time of the incident, the children were home alone. The boys' mother was across the street helping a neighbor.
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