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Brother shot 12-year-old by accident with gun found in woods, police say

Griffin Police said the kids found the gun in the woods near the home where the tragic shooting took place and thought it was a toy.

GRIFFIN, Ga. — Griffin Police said early Monday that the 12-year-old boy killed by a gunshot wound to the chest outside a home Saturday evening was accidentally shot by his young brother playing with a gun he found discarded in some nearby woods.

Investigators said the tragic incident happened at about 7:41 p.m. Saturday in front of a home in the 600 block of Hammock Street.

The child was visiting relatives from Sharpsburg when the incident happened, police said.

According to a more recent police report, investigators said that earlier in the day on Saturday, Griffin uniformed officers had attempted a traffic stop in the area.

However, the individuals fled behind houses near the area of the Hammock Street home where the tragic shooting of the 12-year-old occurred later on.

As officers searched the area, they found and recovered a bag of suspected MDMA. The officers turned the bag in for further examination. They did not, however, locate a weapon during their search of the area.

RELATED: Child dead after shooting in Griffin, police investigating

The report said that officers later found the suspected driver of the vehicle they were looking for, who provided them with additional information related to their investigation.

On Sunday, the children who were present at the time of the shooting -- the 12-year-old's 7 and 5-year-old siblings -- were interviewed at the Southern Crescent Sexual Assault and Child Advocacy Center, which is an organization that provides forensic interviews of children who have witnessed acts of violence.

According to information obtained from the interview with the children, the 5-year-old -- a boy -- had found the gun in a wooded area near the home where the shooting took place. Investigators were able to determine that this was close to where they had recovered the bag of suspected drugs.

Thinking the gun was a toy, the boy accidentally discharged it, striking his brother in the chest.

The Criminal Investigations Division has turned its attention toward finding the person or persons who are suspected of getting rid of the gun.

Investigators said the gun and the boy's clothes were collected and sent to the GBI's Crime Lab for touch DNA analysis to determine who had possessed and touched the weapon. In addition, the clothes will be sent through gunshot residue analysis testing.

"We will leave no stone unturned as we search for the individuals responsible for the abandonment of this weapon," said Griffin Police Chief Mike Yates.

While Griffin Police are continuing their overall investigation, they have said that evidence, at this point, indicates that the shooting itself is the result of a tragic accident. 

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