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ROCKY MOUNT — Guns and kids. If you're a parent and keep a handgun, you do all you can to keep them apart. Tuesday, a young girl was shot in the face. Police say her brother pulled the trigger.
It happened in the Nash County side of Rocky Mount. Investigators say three young children were alone in a Grace Street home when a 9-year-old boy found a pistol beneath a mattress. While he was playing with it, the gun fired and hit his 6-year-old sister.
The gun's owner is the mother's boyfriend. Melvin Powell is charged with allowing the gun to be accessible to a minor. Police believe the little boy had no plans to hurt his sister.
The young girl was flown to Pitt Memorial Hospital where she is in critical condition. Police say they may ask for additional charges.
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