Cash Irby Jr, 4, dies after shooting himself with gun he found at home

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Four-year-old boy dies after accidentally shooting himself with gun he found in parents' bedroom
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Cash Irby, Jr., four, was found dead of a single gunshot wound in his bedroom
His parents were tending to their two other children when they heard a gun go off
The gun belonged to the parents and was kept high in a bedroom closet
A family member says the boy must have climbed the shelves to reach it
The family unsure how the child knew the gun was there
His distraught family describe the little boy as bright, affectionate and playful

Published: 17:43 EST, 19 May 2014 | Updated: 18:06 EST, 19 May 2014

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A four-year-old northwest Indiana boy has died after he allegedly found a handgun in his parents' bedroom and accidentally shot himself in the head.

Cash Irby, Jr. of Merrillville was pronounced dead Saturday morning at a local hospital.

Merrillville Police Commander Jeff Rice says Irby took a gun from his parents' bedroom and took it to his room, where the gun discharged.

Accidental: Police believe that Cash Irby, Jr.'s death was a tragic accident

Under investigation: The coroner has ruled the boy's death accidental, but police and Child Protective Services are investigating how the child got his hands on the gun

The Lake County coroner's office listed the boy's cause of death as an accidental gunshot wound to the head. He was pronounced dead at 8:47am.

Irby's second cousin, Kelly White-Gibson, said the boy climbed shelves in a closet to get the gun from the back of a top shelf.

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'They always kept it up in the closet behind shoes and clothes and boxes,' White-Gisbon told WGN-TV, 'so we're not sure how he ever saw it.'

Gunshot: Cash Irby, Jr.'s parents were tending to their two other children when they heard a gun go off in his bedroom

Beloved: The little boy's second cousin says his parents are 'distraught' at the loss of their 'bright,' 'affectionate' little boy

She says the family kept the handgun for protection.

According White-Gibson, the boy's father was tending to the couple's one-year-old and his wife was bathing their five-year-old daughter when they heard the gun go off in the little boy's bedroom in their home on the 6400 block of Cleveland Street.

'Baby Cash was in his room, playing,' Kelly White-Gibson told The Times of Munster.

'[The father] went into his room and saw him and called 911 and stayed on the line until police arrived.'

She described the little Cash Irby Jr.'s parents as 'distraught' at the loss of their beloved little boy.

'Baby Cash was just such a bright child. Just an affectionate little boy, very active, very playful,' she said. 'And he was such a daddy's boy. He used to climb up on my cousin's lap and kiss him every five minutes.'

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Kechi, London, United Kingdom, 58 minutes ago

RIP Little one. My condolences to your family. This should never happen again.

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Bethanmary, Cardiff, United Kingdom, 1 hour ago

Another tragic death that could have been prevented. It should be illegal in America to keep a loaded gun anywhere that a child can access it. If you insist on keeping a gun in the house please lock it in a safety box or at the very least keep the damn bullets out of it. Even so, my thoughts are with the family, nobody deserves to lose a child but please let cases like this be a lesson to others, educate your children on the danger of guns, make them understand that they are not toys, keep them out of reach and out of sight or preferably not at all and then maybe more deaths can be prevented.

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Tisha, Temecula, United States, 1 hour ago

Do Not Have Loaded Guns in your house! If your a parent, lock those things up without bullets, keep a safety lock on them and keep them locked up in a gun cabinet....I grew up with guns, my husband has guns...where did my father and husband keep our guns...locked up!

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Thick Ed, England, Soviet States Of Europe, 1 hour ago

All that matters to Americans is their 'right' to surround themselves and their children with guns. Clearly the death of who-knows how many American children each year to these guns is of secondary importance to them. Their choice.

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Doug DeGrave, Winchester, United States, 1 hour ago

Unconfirmed, sweeping generalizations are quite popular around here.

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Jennifer Cockburn, Sarasota, United States, 1 hour ago

You are correct. Thick Ed. This is not a sweeping generalization but apart of American culture, part of the constitution, upheld by lawmakers, and championed by the NRA and right wing conservatives.

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Smarterthanthat, Denver, United States, 2 hours ago

My four year old granddaughter learned the way to the cupboard over the refrigerator was to open the fridge, climb the shelves and reach the cupboard where the chocolate is. Parents, never have a loaded gun around with your children. They can and will find them.

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Petunia, Timbuktu, 2 hours ago

Oh, geez, what an awful thing to happen! Poor little guy! But the news had a story several months ago about how little kids KNEW exactly where their parents kept their gun, even when it was hidden away in a closet. That's a terrible and scary thought. And this little boy's natural curiosity made him climb and grab the gun. His poor parents. I hope they have family there to comfort them. RIP, little guy.

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sooupset, Denver, 2 hours ago

Is it that hard to keep the bullets or clip way far away from the gun in a hidden place and have the gun on a high shelf? You can still reach them and put them together in an emergency. I was a curious kid that always looked through everything in the house and never ever knew my dad had a gun.

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awakepatriot, Tucson, United States, 3 hours ago

I heard that the leading cause of child death is car crashes, but I guess we don't want to give up our cars, do we? Question; all of you that are crying about guns and how evil they are....do you react the same way when you hear about an abortion? What if it was a highly sensationalized national news story every time someone got an abortion? Would you demonize those people too?