Police: Man says he, not boy, shot 4-year-old accidentally
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Police say a man has confessed to fatally shooting a 4-year-old north Philadelphia girl originally believed to have been killed by her young brother.
Investigators said the girl was shot in the face by her father or stepfather in a home in the Kensington neighborhood shortly before 2:30 p.m. Saturday. Emergency medical personnel pronounced her dead at the scene.
Police originally believed the girl was shot by her 5-year-old sibling and were searching for the child’s father or stepfather, who was believed to have owned the gun used.
But Sgt. Eric Gripp said Sunday that the man turned himself in Saturday night and ultimately admitted to shooting the victim.
Gripp said the father or stepfather “stated that the sibling had nothing to do with it.”
No identities have been released.