A two-year-old boy has died after being accidentally shot by his three-year-old sister in California, according to police. Skip related content
The girl apparently found a .45 calibre semi-automatic handgun under her parents' bed and fired it at her brother by mistake.

The boy, Ruben Soto III, was reportedly shot once in the chest.

He was taken to Kern Medical Centre but later pronounced dead.

Police said the children's mother was in another area of their flat at the time of the shooting. Their father was at work.

"It's pretty shocking, you know, parents having a gun when kids can get to it and it's loaded," Bobby Ortiz, who lives in the area, told news service TurnTo23.com.

"I don't know if there's another word to describe it, it's just a tragedy," said Bakersfield police sergeant Greg Terry.

"It's so important that, if you're going to have firearms in your possession, (you) make sure they're stored safely, so that incidents like this don't occur."

According to the officer, it is illegal to leave a gun somewhere in the home where a child can get hold of it.

The investigation is continuing.