A 3-year-old girl was fatally shot by a 5-year-old boy in a home in Bena, Minnesota, early Friday, officials said.

       The Cass County Sheriff’s Office received a report of an accidental shooting around 3:50 a.m.

       When deputies responded they learned the little girl “had been shot by accidental gunfire” by the boy, Sheriff Tom Burch said in a news release.

       STOCK IMAGE/Steve Prezant/Getty Images

       Bullets rest next to the barrel of a gun in an undated stock image.

       She was transported to the Deer River hospital by family members and intercepted by the Deer River Ambulance and lifesaving efforts were attempted on the child.

       The girl was pronounced dead at the Deer River Hospital.

       An autopsy is pending with the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office and an investigation is underway.

       The relationship between the boy and girl is not clear. It’s also not know how the child got a hold of the firearm.

       It’s not clear whether possible criminal charges will be filed in the fatal incident.

       So far this year 968 children have been killed by guns, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

       In 2019, 3,371 American children and teens were killed with guns, the Children's Defense Fund, a nonprofit child advocacy and research group reported.