Girl, 4, Fatally Shoots Cousin, Also 4, in Detroit

Loaded shotgun found under grandfather's bed

A 4-year-old girl accidentally shot her 4-year-old cousin to death with a loaded rifle that she found under a bed at their grandfather's Detroit home, police said Friday.

The girl was playing and watching TV on Thursday afternoon with the 4-year-old boy and his 5-year-old sister when she found the gun, police Sgt. Michael Woody said. He said she picked up the weapon, pointed it at the boy and shot him once in the chest.

The boy was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead, Woody said. A family friend was the only adult at the home on the city's west side at the time, Woody said, and it wasn't immediately known who owns the gun.