In the US, a child dies while handling a weapon on his birthday

A yellow US police tape (illustrative image).

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In the United States, a three-year-old child died on Saturday while handling a gun during his birthday party, police in the city of Porter, Texas said.

Hit in the chest, he was rushed to a fire station where he succumbed to his injury, police said in a statement in the city, located about 40 kilometers north of Houston.

The little boy was celebrating his third birthday with family and friends when adults in attendance heard a gunshot while playing cards.

According to investigators, he found the weapon that had fallen from the pocket of one of his family members.

More children at home because of the pandemic

Accidents of this kind have increased since the closure of schools due to the coronavirus pandemic, warned the organization Moms Demand Action which fights against the dissemination of weapons in a country where a third of adults have at least gun.

"With more children at home during the pandemic, it is more important than ever to have secure storage space, the stakes are so high," said Christine Parker, the organization's representative for Texas.

According to an investigation by the organization Everytown for gun safety, at least 97 deaths have been linked to “unintentional shooting” of children or minors since the start of the year.

Texas is one of the most lax states in the United States when it comes to firearms laws, possession and possession of which is guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the Constitution, according to arms defense associations.

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