PAULDING COUNTY, Ga. — A 20-year-old Paulding County man has been arrested for second-degree murder after his 4-year-old sister accidentally shot herself and ultimately died.
According to the Paulding County Sheriff's Office, the county's E-911 received a call last Friday around 2:40 a.m. about a 4-year-old who had fallen and needed medical attention.
When law enforcement arrived at the residence on Village Drive, they discovered that the 4-year-old had an apparent gunshot wound to the head. She was pronounced dead early that morning, the sheriff's office said.
Detectives then began speaking with the adults in the home. The sheriff's office said deputies found out that the girl's 20-year-old older brother had left his gun unattended and that the child grabbed it and accidentally shot herself.
The sheriff's office said that 20-year-old Joseph Edwin Hinson was then subsequently arrested and charged with second-degree murder and second-degree cruelty to children because the gun was left unattended.
Hinson is currently being held in the Paulding County Jail without bond.
