An 8-year-old boy found a loaded 20-gauge shotgun and killed his 3-year-old cousin, who was visiting from Nacogdoches, Monday.
Braison Howard, 3, was killed instantly, neighbors said, at a home in Eureka near Richland Chambers Reservoir. It’s about 15 miles southeast of Corsicana.
Braison had just finished breakfast, his mother told News 8, and went outside to play with his 8-year-old cousin when the adults heard the gun blast.
Just before going out, the 8-year-old had asked to play with a BB gun, but the adults refused to give it to him, the victim’s mother said.
Braison, his two siblings, and his parents drove to Eureka from Nacogdoches last week to visit his father’s relatives. They had planned to return home later Monday.
“By all accounts, this is just a tragic accident,” said Navarro County Sheriff Elmer Tanner.
Investigators are still talking to witnesses and recounting what happened, the sheriff said, so it’s too early to know whether anyone will face charges.
At least three adults were home when the boy was shot.
