Clinton child dies of accidental gunshot

An 8-year-old from Clinton died Friday, the victim of an accidental shooting as he and some friends tried to hunt squirrels in Bladen County, according to the North Carolina Wildlife Commission.

According to the sheriff's office, James Ethan Bartley and two friends, ages 11 and 12, were playing unsupervised at a home on Soup Haire Road outside Elizabethtown. They found the .22 caliber rifle in an outbuilding and decided to go hunting.

One of the older boys tripped while carrying the rifle, it fired and hit James in the side. He was taken to UNC Hospitals, where he died, the sheriff's office said.