Shooting death of 13-year-old was likely accidental
BATON ROUGE — Police are attempting to identify who else was inside the car where a 13-year-old girl was fatally shot.
Baton Rouge police say Madison Allen was shot inside a running car around 11 p.m. on Friday at the East Mason Road complex where she lived. She later died from her injuries at the hospital.
Sources close to the investigation say they believe the shooting was likely an accident and happened inside the car based on surveillance video.
WBRZ learned the car was reported stolen through the East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office. It is unclear why Harris was inside or how many others were with her.
According to WBRZ's records, there have been seven accidental shootings in Baton Rouge this year, and five were fatal.
The most recent nonfatal shooting happened last week at Southern University when a group of friends was passing around a shotgun that accidentally fired and hit a student in the chest. Baton Rouge police arrested two men in that case, and charged one with negligent injuring.
"Firearm safety is something that we preach all the time," said Chief TJ Morse.
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"Whether it is adults looking at this new gun I bought, or whether you're keeping a gun in your home so kids can get their hands on it, but if you're going to be a gun owner you need to be a responsible gun owner," said Morse.
In August, a 5-year-old shot themselves in the hand after finding a loaded gun their babysitter left on the bed. Earlier this year, three teens and a 10-year-old died in separate accidental shootings.