A community is in shock after a two-year-old child tragically shot himself after finding a gun in his Port St Lucie home on Tuesday night, according to the local police department.

Officers rushed to the family’s home around 7pm, following a distressing emergency call reporting that a child had shot himself in the head.

The police revealed that the boy found the gun in his mother’s bedroom and accidentally fired it, causing the fatal injury. The firearm reportedly belonged to the child’s mother’s fiancé and was allegedly left unsecured and in plain sight.

The toddler wasn’t the only child in the house at the time, as an infant was also present during the horrifying incident. “It’s the hardest way to learn this lesson. Gun safety gun safety gun safety. If you’re going to have children In the house the gun has to be secured. Don’t ever assume that the child is too young to be able to get ahold of that gun and pull that trigger,” warned Chief Leo Niemczyk, of the Port St Lucie Police Department in Florida, United States.

“‘Don’t ever assume the child is too young to get a hold of that gun and pull the trigger… It’s the hardest way to learn this lesson: Gun safety, gun safety, gun safety.”

Niemczyk added that it’s still unclear whether the mother and fiancé will face charges as the investigation continues into the tragedy on NW Zenith Drive in the Torrino neighbourhood of Port St Lucie.

The police have stated that the shooting scene, near Northwest Zenith Drive, is still an active crime scene. Investigators are currently working to secure a warrant to conduct a more thorough search of the property, reported the Mirror US.

It was confirmed by authorities that there were adults present in the house at the time of the incident and they are currently being interviewed by the police. As of Wednesday afternoon, no arrests had been made, according to the police.

“The unfortunate reality is things can happen at any time, anywhere, any place,” said Jennifer Massey, the co-lead of Moms Demand Action in Florida, speaking to WPBF. Massey resides just a few miles from where the tragic incident took place.

“A lot of people have been in shock that it was a two-year-old and how a two-year-old can pull the trigger,” Massey told the outlet. “I know the belief is that they are not able or capable of pulling a trigger or picking up a firearm, but the unfortunate reality is they can and it actually happens more than we could ever imagine.”

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