A 6-year-old McDuffie County boy was killed Tuesday after he and his older brother found a loaded handgun and began playing with it, according to authorities.
McDuffie County Sheriff Logan Marshall said the boys' mother was asleep at the time of the shooting, about 3 p.m.
"There's a possibility there could be some charges brought in this case," Sheriff Marshall said. "We're still involved in the investigation right now."
Sheriff Marshall said the victim and his older brother found a loaded .32-caliber handgun in a closet in a bedroom of their grandfather's residence on Cedar Rock Road. The boys were playing with it when it went off and a bullet struck the younger boy in the left temple, the sheriff said.
The victim, Austin Robertson, was flown by helicopter to Medical College of Georgia Hospital shortly after 4 p.m. McDuffie County Coroner Rhusha Mack said the child died at 6:50 p.m.
The coroner said he would order an autopsy at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation crime lab.
