Police say a child found the firearm before the Aug. 1 shooting that left a 5-year-old boy dead.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — An unsecured firearm found by a child was at the center of an accidental shooting that killed a 5-year-old boy in Memphis, according to investigators who continued examining the circumstances surrounding the child’s death.
The Memphis Police Department said officers were called shortly before 5 p.m. Aug. 1 to the 3900 block of Innsbrook Drive near Birch Run Lane in the Hickory Hill neighborhood. The 5-year-old was taken to a hospital in critical condition and later died.
As detectives investigated, police said they determined that a child had located an unsecured firearm and that the resulting shooting was accidental. Authorities have not publicly explained in the reports reviewed where the gun had been kept or how long it had been accessible before the shooting.
The finding focuses attention on the circumstances surrounding the weapon while leaving several investigative questions unresolved. Police have not publicly identified the firearm’s owner in the verified reports reviewed, nor have they announced whether investigators believe any adult violated a law in connection with the gun’s storage.
A man was detained during the investigation but was later released, local reports said. No charges had been filed when police issued their early updates. Authorities did not publicly state that the man fired the weapon, and the available verified reporting does not establish that he committed a crime.
Police also have not publicly provided a full sequence of events leading to the shooting. A neighbor told WREG she understood that two young brothers had found a gun and one accidentally shot the other, but police had not confirmed that account. The department’s public description was narrower, saying only that a child located an unsecured firearm.
The distinction is important because witness or neighborhood accounts can emerge before investigators have established what happened. Police have classified the shooting as accidental while continuing to investigate the circumstances that allowed a child to gain access to the firearm.
The boy’s death was confirmed after he was transported from the Hickory Hill scene. Authorities have released few additional details in the verified reports reviewed about who was inside the residence, who last possessed the firearm or whether any other children were present.
No verified update reviewed through Aug. 18 announced criminal charges or reversed the Memphis Police Department’s finding that the shooting was accidental. The investigation remained the key source of any future determination about responsibility surrounding the unsecured gun.
Author note: Last updated August 18, 2026.