2 Shootings Involve 4-Year-Olds In 3 Days

Two Four-Year Olds Involved In Separate Shootings

As the debate around gun control raged in Washington, 2 4-year-olds were involved in shooting incidents over the past 3 days.

In Tennessee, a 4-year old boy shot and killed the wife of a state sheriff's deputy on Saturday, according to police.

In Toms River, New Jersey, on Monday night, a 4-year-old shot a 6-year old in the head with a .22 caliber rifle, authorities say.

The Tennessee shooting happened as Wilson County Deputy Daniel Fanning was showing his weapons collection to a relative. The officer's wife and young nephew entered the room, and the child grabbed one of Fanning's loaded guns off the bed and fired a single shot.

The bullet struck Josephine Fanning, the deputy's 48-year-old wife. Efforts were made to revive her, but she was pronounced dead at the scene.

The gun used in the shooting was not the officer's service weapon, nor was he on duty at the time of the incident, The Tennessean reported.

Patch reported a neighbor describing "all these guns" being removed by police as they investigated the scene.

According to CBS News, Daniel Fanning is a school resource officer at two area elementary schools. He and Josephine wed last year.

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Meanwhile, authorities are weighing whether to charge anyone after a 4-year-old shot a 6-year-old in the head Monday night in New Jersey.

The older boy is in serious condition.

Authorities are still investigating how the younger child obtained the .22-caliber rifle from his family's Toms River home.

Police Chief Michael Mastronardy says the children were outside the 4-year-old's home when the boy went inside, got the rifle and shot the 6-year-old about 15 yards away. It's not clear if the 4-year-old pulled the trigger or if the rifle accidentally discharged.

The parents of the 4-year-old were home at the time. No names have been released.

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