Indiana 4-year-old fatally shoots self in head with gun found in parents' bedroom

A northwest Indiana boy fatally shot himself Saturday after finding a gun in his parents' bedroom.

Merrillville police said 4-year-old Cash Irby Jr. took the gun into his own bedroom, where it somehow fired and shot him once in the head.

Officers said the boy was unresponsive when they arrived, and he was pronounced dead at an area hospital, reported WGN-TV.

A family member said the gun was placed on a high shelf inside a closet.

The boy's parent's said he must have climbed on something to retrieve the loaded handgun.

The parents told police they were tending to their 5-year-old daughter and 1-year-old son when they heard the gunshot.

The Lake County coroner ruled the boy's death an accident, but the case remains under investigation.

Watch this report posted online by WGN-TV: