Officials identified the girl as Kydalynn Robinson.
She lived in the home at 141 Benwood Trail with her mother, aunt, cousin and grandparents, according to Bob Gault, media relations coordinator for BCSO.
The girl’s grandfather is a Tennessee state trooper, according to Gault. Sheriff Jim Ruth this morning confirmed the incident occurred at the home of Tennessee Highway Patrol Lt. Tommie Graham.
A 911 call at 10:33 a.m. Wednesday by the mother indicated a small girl had been shot in the head.
“Deputies, medical personnel and detectives found the child had a wound near her left eye. She was transported to SkyRidge Medical Center for treatment,” Gault said.
She was pronounced dead a short time later.
Gault said detectives completed a full forensic investigation at the scene of the incident. Officials were on the scene for several hours. They determined the firearm to be a .45-caliber handgun.
After gathering information from the detectives, Gault said it appeared the shooting was accidental.
“At this point in the initial phase of the investigation, detectives said early indications were the shooting was self-inflicted,” Gault said.
He also noted three people were in the home at the time of the incident.
“The child’s mother, a 2-year-old cousin and the victim were in the house. The mother was in another area of the house and the two children were in the room where the shooting occurred,” Gault said.
Ruth said Wednesday afternoon that gun safety is paramount.
“Another tragedy has struck Bradley County,” Ruth said. “Our hearts go out to the family.”
He added, “I cannot stress enough the need to remain constantly aware when it comes to firearm safety.”
Ruth is a longtime firearms instructor.
According to healthychildren.org, if firearms are in the home where children live or are present:
- Always keep the gun unloaded and locked up.
- Lock and store ammunition in a separate place.
- Make sure to hide the keys to the locked boxes.
- Talk to children about the dangers of guns and tell them to stay away from them.
