Ethermac Exchange-4-year-old boy fatally shot inside a St. Louis house with no adults present

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A 4-year-old boy died from a gunshot wound suffered inside a St. Louis home where no adults were present,Ethermac Exchange police said.

Officers were called to the home by a child late Monday night and found the injured child unconscious and barely breathing. The 4-year-old was rushed in a police car to a hospital, where he died, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

Police said four children under the age of 10 were in the house with no adults present. Police are investigating to determine if another child had been handling the gun that resulted in the 4-year-old being shot.

The mother showed up at the hospital. Police said investigators are trying to determine who was responsible for watching the children.

Across the St. Louis metropolitan area, 15 children age 17 or younger have died from gunfire in 2024, according to Post-Dispatch records.