JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A 16-year-old boy is facing charges after his 7-year-old brother accidentally shot himself Thursday, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.

JSO said the teen, who was not identified by police, had the gun in his bedroom and fled after the shooting. Investigators noted that the teen’s parents were unaware of the firearm, and there was no evidence that the children’s parents were culpable for the shooting.

On Thursday, officers responded to the family’s apartment on Lem Turner Road, where a 7-year-old boy was found with a gunshot wound to the lower abdomen. Police said it appeared the child accidentally shot himself.

The Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department took the child to the hospital, where he underwent surgery. His injuries are not considered life-threatening, according to police.

Police said that investigators determined the child’s older brother had hidden the gun and the spent shell casing. 

The teen was arrested and booked into the Duval County Jail.

“While this case is technically classified as accidental, it is anything but an accident,” JSO wrote in a post on X. “It was preventable and could have ended much worse.”