Enlarge image
Police operation in the USA: 111 victims of unintentionally fired shots this year
Photo: Tampa Bay Times / picture alliance / ZUMAPRESS.com
The gun, which was the undoing of a two-year-old boy from the city of Waco, Texas, was in a relative's backpack.
The boy found the gun in his pocket and shot himself with it, seriously injuring his head.
He died in the hospital, the police announced on Thursday.
Investigators believe that the child accidentally fired the gun.
The relative who owned the pistol initially fled with the weapon.
He later returned and was arrested.
The police are now accusing the 21-year-old of manipulating evidence.
According to statistics from the organization Everytown for Gun Safety, accidental shots by children or adolescents have killed 111 people in the United States this year alone.
From 2015 to 2000 there were 765 dead and more than 1500 injured.
mik / AFP