The Kansas City Police Department is investigating the death of a 3-year-old boy near 18th and Topping.
.@kcpolice investigating death of a child in 1800 blk of Topping. Will update as facts are determined
— chiefforte (@ChiefForte) October 27, 2016
Police responded around 10:30 a.m. on a reported shooting. When they arrived, they saw a small child suffering from an apparent gunshot wound. Officers rendered life-sustaining aide, but the boy died from his injuries.
Cousins told 41 Action News the boy's name is Jermone Green.
"I [heard] voices like, ‘Oh my God, oh my God. I can't believe my baby, my baby.' We still couldn't see [anything], and we looked around and noticed a young lady was standing with her baby and she was in shock," said Tywana Watts, who was at the town home complex as detectives arrived on scene.
Family members told 41 Action News the 3-year-old's mother and boyfriend were upstairs when a five-year-old child climed onto the counter and found the gun on top of a refrigerator. The child thought it was a toy and shot Green, family members said.
"We just want to do everything we can in this case to figure out what happened that led up to the shooting," said Capt. Stacey Graves, a spokeswoman for the Kansas City Police Department.
Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker arrived on scene shortly after police were called.
On Twitter, she called this a "preventable" death and urged people to "properly store your weapons."
Representatives from anti-crime and family support group Mothers in Charge also arrived on scene.
It’s unknown if anyone will face charges in the case.
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