LANCASTER, Pa. — Neighbors are still trying to grasp exactly what happened last night at 529 Woodward Street in Lancaster City.
“I thought something happened with my house or my children, but unfortunately, it happened in another house. I was shocked," said neighbor Mohammad Barat Yakubi.
Yakubi was coming home from work when he saw the police lights and the tape. He immediately thought the worse.
“We came from Afghanistan. Afghanistan is a backward country, and we came here to be safe and live in a peaceful atmosphere. So, when I saw that, I'm getting [flashbacks.]"
At about 7:05 p.m. police responded to a residence for a reported shooting. When officers arrived, they found an infant lying on the floor inside the home with a gunshot wound to the face. The baby was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Lancaster City Bureau of Police confirmed that a three-year-old inside the home fired the gun that killed the baby.
“It’s probably due to adults not paying attention, leaving the guns around a child and something like that can happen, it’s a shame," said neighbor Ronald Jackson.
Neighbors say this could have been prevented.
“I don’t know why the family keeps the gun in the house, they have to put it in a safe place," said Yakubi.
“I always kept [guns] locked and put away, there’s no way [children] can get ahold of it. They have to be more careful; this is what can happen," said Jackson.
According to the Lancaster County Coroner’s Office, they are planning on doing the autopsy Friday morning.