4-Year-Old Dies After Gun Fires In Car With 2 Adults Smoking Marijuana

A four-year-old boy was fatally shot while sitting in the backseat of a car in what Louisana authorities are calling an act of negligence. The Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office said that boy was sitting in a parked car with his younger sibling and two adults who were smoking marijuana.

While the adults were smoking, a gun discharged in the vehicle, and a bullet struck the young boy. He was rushed to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Investigators said the gunshot wound was not self-inflicted and are trying to determine who pulled the trigger and how the gun went off.

"Our initial investigation has led our investigators to believe that the child was injured not by a hostile act, but by a negligent one," the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office said in a statement.

"As the adults were smoking marijuana in the front seat, a shot was fired inside the vehicle that struck the victim, causing the fatal injury," the statement continued. "Our investigators are still trying to determine who fired the shot. It is not believed to be self-inflicted. This investigation remains active and ongoing."

Officials have not released the identity of the adults or the children and have not made any arrests in the case.