20-year-old man arrested after 4-year-old sister finds his gun, accidentally shoots herself to death

PAULDING COUNTY, Ga. — A Paulding County man has been arrested on second-degree murder charges after his 4-year-old sister accidentally shot and killed herself with his loaded gun.

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Deputies said they were called to a home in Hiram around 2:40 a.m. Friday about a child who had fallen and gotten injured. When deputies got to the scene, they found the child had actually sustained a gunshot wound to the head.

The child was pronounced dead by the Paulding County Coroner’s Office.

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Detectives discovered that an adult sibling of the 4-year-old had left his gun unattended and the child must have found the gun and shot herself in the head.

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Joseph Edwin Hinson, 20, was charged with cruelty to children in the second degree and murder in the second degree. He’s currently being held in the Paulding County Jail.

Anyone with more information about the case is asked to call the Paulding County Sheriff’s Office tip line.

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