Police are investigating the death of an 8-year-old boy found with a gunshot wound in a home in New Haven’s Hill neighborhood Thursday night, according to police.
Police said officers and firefighters responded to a home around 10:40 p.m. to investigate a report that someone had been shot inside a residence on Howard Avenue, between Columbus Avenue and Minor Street.
They found the child in a second-floor bedroom and emergency medical responders treated the boy. An ambulance transported him to Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to police.
The New Haven Police Department Bureau of Identification forensic detectives responded to the home. As part of the investigation, detectives seized a handgun and a safe from the home.
Officers notified the Yale Child Study Center and the Department of Children and Families. Police said a Child Study Center clinician met with the victim’s family at the hospital.
The preliminary investigation revealed the child was killed by an accidental firearm discharge, according to police.
“We mourn the tragic loss of such a young member of our community," Police Chief Otoniel Reyes said. "We ask the community to join us in keeping the family in our thoughts and prayers during this time of unimaginable loss, pain, and grief.”
