CHESTNUTHILL TOWNSHIP, MONROE COUNTY, Pa.-- State police say a four-year-old shot himself in the face and died Sunday.
First responders rushed the boy to the hospital, but he did not survive, according to WNEP.
Neighbors say that shots can often be heard in the neighborhood because hunting and target practice are popular there, but they call the death of a child heartbreaking.
Ray Achey knows the family and says the pre-schooler was always friendly to kids and adults.
"My wife, when she takes my one grandson around the block on the golf cart, the little boy is always out in the driveway, and they say hi to each other," Achey said.
Achey added that what happened here is a reminder of the importance of gun safety for children, including his own grandkids.
"We are going to have a heart to heart about it, and I do not ever want to see them touching them, until they can take the hunting safety test," Achey said.
State troopers also stressed the importance of gun safety, saying that it is especially important to make sure guns are locked up.
"At that age, they sometimes don't understand the difference between TV and real life and it's sad," Trooper David Peters said.
Trooper Peters adds if the investigation reveals adults in the home were negligent they could face criminal charges.
"How did a 4 year old come in possession of a firearm? That's something we want to look at."
