ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A boy died from an accidental self-inflicted gunshot on Friday in St. Petersburg, police report. He has been identified as 9-year-old Julian Ali.
At 5 p.m., officers with the St. Petersburg Police Department responded to a call of a child shot in an apartment at the Reserve at Lynn Lake Pointe.
Police say their initial investigation shows Ali died instantly from an apparent accidental self-inflicted gunshot.
"It is very early in the investigation, but preliminary indications are that the shooting was accidental," the agency explains in a media alert.
Police say Ali was in the apartment with three other children—ages 1 through 14—as well as his adult sister when the single shot was fired.
Police say the gun did not belong to anyone who lived in that apartment, but rather, the gun's owner had reported the gun stolen in a burglary in the same complex.
At this time, detectives are still trying to determine how Julian Ali got ahold of the gun. No one has been charged at this time.
The apartment is rented in his mother’s name. Ali had been living with relatives in another state but was spending the summer in his mother’s home, according to police.
At the time of the shooting, his mother was not home.
Meanwhile, police are urging people with guns at home to make sure they're stored safely.
"This is a horrific situation, anytime a child has a firearm," said St. Petersburg Police Lt. Ricardo Lopez. "We want to make sure everyone has their firearms safe and locked because any time they get into the wrong hands, this is the type of tragedy that can happen."
There is an ongoing investigation into the shooting.