An eight-year-old Saskatchewan girl has died after she was accidentally shot in the head by her brother, police said Monday.
RCMP were called to a farm near Cutknife, west of North Battleford, on Sunday evening after a report of a shooting.
Spokesman Sgt. Brad Kaeding said the shooting appeared to be an accident.
"I don't believe they were playing with the rifle itself," said Sgt. Kaeding from his office in Regina.
"I believe it was just being moved from one location to another within the home. The girl, I don't believe, was involved with the firearm."
Sgt. Kaeding said it appeared the girl's 14-year-old brother was handling the weapon when "unfortunately it went off."
The parents and their remaining five children are completely devastated, said an area resident.
"You couldn't wish to know better people. This is just hard to believe - a real shock," said Debbie Mueller.
The girl, who was not named, was found in a basement bedroom with a single gunshot wound to her head.
She was pronounced dead at the scene. An autopsy was scheduled to take place Tuesday in Saskatoon.
The girl's parents and another older brother were also home at the time, but authorities don't believe they were in the room at the time of the shooting.
No charges have been laid, although the investigation is continuing.
Ms. Mueller said the family moved to the area about a year ago from northeast Saskatchewan, and was active in the community.
She said the children went to school in Cutknife, and a number of them excelled at playing piano. The 8-year-old girl was one of the featured pianists at the school's Christmas concert.
Sgt. Kaeding called the shooting a grim reminder that precautions need to be taken when people have weapons in their homes.
"Anybody who has a firearm should have taken a firearm safety training course," he said. "Any firearms in the house where people haven't been trained in their safe use should be locked up, should be securely stored.
"Hopefully we can avoid tragedies like this in the future."