LAWRENCE, Kan. — A one-year-old girl died in a tragic accidental shooting inside a home on North Michigan Street on Friday.
Police first received calls about the incident around 10:30 am.
First-responders performed life-saving measures but the child succumbed to her injuries, officials said.
Family friend Janell Precht said when she saw the amount of police outside the home, she immediately worried.
"We saw the tape and saw the trucks so we turned around and tried hurrying up calling her (the mother of the child)," she explained. "They're a good family. A good Christian family."
Precht told 41 Action News that her daughter occasionally looked after the one-year-old girl.
"She was so sweet," Precht explained. "She'd give you big hugs."
Police did not release the name of the young girl out of privacy for the family.
As news of the shooting spread down the street, the tragedy brought shock to the quiet neighborhood north of downtown and near Interstate 70.
"Anytime anyone loses their life it's a sad thing but a young person like this never had a chance," explained longtime resident John Skuban. "Someone that young, so tragic and so sudden like that. I'll remember this for quite a while."
Janell Precht believed the shooting brought an important reminder.
"Keep your guns locked up," she explained. "I don't how or what happened but keep your guns locked up."
Police ruled the shooting as accidental based on witness statements and evidence at the scene.
Once the investigation is complete, the reports will be forwarded to the Douglas County District Attorney's Office for review.
