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Two toddlers shoot siblings in US | |
(about 23 hours later) | |
Two young children have been shot by their siblings in the space of 24 hours in the United States. | |
In Las Vegas, a two-year-old girl was in a critical condition after being shot by her four-year-old brother at their home, police said. | |
In South Carolina, a four-year-old boy was shot in the stomach by his three-year-old brother after the little boy found a gun. | |
The injured boy was expected to make a full recovery, police said. | |
The incident in Las Vegas happened on Thursday night after the girl's brother found a loaded 9mm handgun inside their home. | |
It went off while he was holding it, hitting his sister in her torso. | |
According to police, the father was home at the time and the gun appears to have been improperly secured. | According to police, the father was home at the time and the gun appears to have been improperly secured. |
The shooting involving the two brothers happened in Gray Court, South Carolina, also on Thursday night. They and their father were staying at the home of a family friend. | |
Laurens County Sheriff Ricky Chastain said it appeared the younger boy found the gun under a bed and accidentally shot his brother. | |
The injured boy was flown to hospital, where he underwent surgery, he said. | |
No charges have been filed in relation to either case. | |
Gun debate | |
The two incidents come less than a week after a five-year-old boy died after shooting himself in the head. | |
He had found a handgun inside his father's vehicle outside a Las Vegas pharmacy. | He had found a handgun inside his father's vehicle outside a Las Vegas pharmacy. |
The father in that case has been charged with child endangerment. | The father in that case has been charged with child endangerment. |
In the US, the right to bear arms is enshrined in the Second Amendment of the US Constitution. There are thought to be more than 200 million firearms in private hands. | |
Advocates of gun control face tough opposition from gun owners. | |
Critics of the current gun laws link high levels of gun crime and gun-related injury with high levels of gun ownership. |
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