Police: 3-year-old Monroeville girl dead in apparent accidental shooting

Allegheny County detectives said there is “strong evidence” a 5-year-old sibling accidentally shot and killed a 3-year-old girl Friday night in Monroeville.

The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office said the victim, Braya Sanders, was taken to Forbes Hospital in Monroeville, where she was pronounced dead just before 9:30 p.m.

Monroeville police responded shortly after 9 p.m. to the shooting in the 100 block of Cambridge Drive, at Cambridge Square Apartments.

County police, who are assisting, said they discovered evidence indicating the girl was shot by a 5-year-old sibling, who was handling an unsecured firearm in the home. The firearm appears to be owned by a parent, who is cooperating with the investigation, police said.

Police have notified Allegheny County Children, Youth and Families of the incident and said they will present facts to the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office to determine any culpability in the case.

County police Assistant Superintendent Chris Kearns said there would be no further details released Saturday.

Accidental child shootings rising?

Local figures on unintentional gun deaths involving children in recent months and years were not immediately available.

Nationally, unintentional shootings by children have been on the rise during the pandemic, federal data show.

Between March and April of last year, unintentional shootings by minors led to 21 deaths — up by 30% from an average of 15 deaths during the same time period during three prior years, according to research by Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund, which tracks gun violence using available data sources and news reports. Related injuries climbed by 36%.

In a typical year, about 350 such incidents involving children happen nationwide, according to the CDC’s National Center on Health Statistics. More than three-quarters of the accidental shootings happen in homes.

So far this year, in 2021, the Everytown watchdog group has tracked at least 53 unintentional shootings by children. Thirty-five of those incidents led to injuries, and 21 caused deaths.

Anyone with information concerning the Monroeville incident is asked to call the county police tipline, 1-833-255-8477. Callers can remain anonymous.

Natasha Lindstrom and Jeff Himler are Tribune-Review staff writers. You can contact Natasha at 412-380-8514, nlindstrom@triblive.com or via Twitter @NewsNatasha. You can contact Jeff at 724-836-6622, jhimler@triblive.com or via Twitter @jhimler_news.