SEATTLE (AP) - The 7-year-old daughter of a Washington state police officer died at a Seattle hospital Sunday after being shot by her young sibling, who found a loaded gun in the family's van, authorities said.
The shooting occurred inside the vehicle Saturday afternoon in Stanwood, Wash., as the parents were nearby, the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office said in a news release.
Neither the officer's identity nor any details about his career with the Marysville Police Department were immediately released. It wasn't clear if the weapon involved in the shooting had been issued by the department.
"There will be no further information available regarding the investigation until at least early next week," Snohomish County sheriff's Lt. Brent Speyer said in a news release.
The girl was taken first to a local hospital and then transported to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
The Stanwood Police Department asked the Snohomish County sheriff to handle the investigation.
Unlike dozens of other states, Washington has no law that includes criminal penalties for adults who allow children to get their hands on guns.