Child found gun, accidentally killed sibling and injured self in Clewiston, DCF reports

Reporter: Justin Kase Writer: Derrick Shaw
Published: Updated:
Crime scene tape is up at Hendry Regional Medical Center in connection to an accidental shooting involving two children in Clewiston Friday, May 7, 2021. The shooting did not happen at the hospital. Credit: WINK News.

The Department of Children and Families has released information on a shooting in Clewiston that killed one child and injured another.

According to DCF, the shooting was accidental where a 5-year-old sibling found a loaded weapon in a vehicle which discharged, fatally injuring their 4-year-old sibling.

The shooting occurred on Friday in a Subway parking lot. The children were taken to Hendry County Medical Center, where the 4-year-old died.

The 5-year-old child was airlifted to a trauma center and upgraded to stable condition, the Hendry County Sheriff’s Office said on Saturday.

The community is devastated. An employee we spoke to at the Subway says, after the shooting, one of the employees took a day off.

We spoke to people who knew the family involved and others who learned about the shooting after it happened.

Community members as a whole are urging parents to be extra vigilant with their firearms, so no more families are ripped apart like this.

Parents say this needs to be a wakeup call.

They point to this and another situation recently when a child found a gun and killed a sibling in a Fort Myers shopping center.

“If you hid it in the home, they can find it,” said Rich Kolko, WINK News Safety & Security Specialist. “A few simple steps you can take. Don’t leave a gun loaded. Make sure you lock the weapon when you don’t need it, and if you are going to have it loaded and ready to use, make sure you’re carrying it and not leaving it somewhere a child can find it.”

Hendry County Sheriff’s Office says the Clewiston case has been referred to the state attorney’s office and couldn’t tell us anything else.

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