Boy fatally shoots 5-year-old nephew

TUESDAY UPDATE: A Henderson boy who was shot and killed by an 11-year-old relative who found a gun in a box of toys was identified Tuesday.

Robert Martin IV of Henderson died Sunday afternoon from a gunshot wound to the chest, according to the Clark County coroner’s office.

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An 11-year-old boy who on Sunday found a real gun in a box of toys later fatally shot his 5-year-old nephew, Henderson police said Monday.

The identity of the dead boy was not released. Police said the 11-year-old told investigators he thought the gun was a toy. The two boys were in a downstairs playroom inside an unfinished house, police said.

The shooting occurred about 1:50 p.m. Sunday in the 500 block of Lairmont Drive near MacDonald Ranch Drive, south of the Las Vegas Beltway.

Police said the 5-year-old boy died at St. Rose Dominican Hospital, Siena Campus. The child was shot in the chest.

The mother of the shooting victim went to the house to visit the owner, Sidney Jacobs, 37. Police said the 11-year-old is the brother of the mother of the 5-year-old.

Henderson police spokesman Keith Paul said the shooting was a "horrible tragedy that could have easily been prevented."

Paul added: "We always encourage everyone to put guns in a secure area, specifically, when there are children around. …That is rule number one for gun safety."

State law requires parents to store firearms securely.

Christine Skorupski, a spokeswoman for Clark County Family Services, said the shooting is strictly a law enforcement matter.

"The incident did not happen in the home of the (victim’s) family, nor does the owner of the firearms have children," Skorupski said. "The situation does not meet criteria for which Child Protective Services would respond."

During a search of the house, detectives found five other handguns and rifles. All of the weapons were confiscated by police.

Late Monday afternoon, police said no one had been charged in connection with the shooting. Detectives were still investigating the shooting.

Attempts to reach Jacobs were unsuccessful Monday night. According to Clark County records, the house where the shooting occurred was bought in 2004 by Sidney and Lucia Jacobs for $900,000.

In an incident last year involving an improperly secured gun that resulted in injury to a toddler, charges were filed because of the shooting.

A 2-year-old boy was severely injured after shooting himself in February 2010. The boy’s father, a Las Vegas police officer, left his weapon, a .45-caliber Wilson 1911, on a nightstand in his Overton home. The gun discharged, striking the child in the arm and abdomen. The child survived his injuries.

The child’s parents pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor in May 2010.

Jared and Shawnee Bledsoe entered an Alford plea for one count of use or possession of a firearm by a child under 18. The Alford plea meant the Bledsoes did not admit guilt but acknowledged that prosecutors could prove a case against them.

According to court documents, the Bledsoes told investigators they had put their son to sleep in their master bedroom while they played cards with friends in the kitchen.

They were sentenced to 50 hours of community service and had to take a gun safety class.

Previously, the Bledsoes had been indicted by a Clark County grand jury on one count of felony child abuse and neglect resulting in substantial bodily harm.