US firings: Two toddlers shoot their siblings

In two separate incidents, a four-year-old and a three-year-old shot their toddler siblings in gun-firing accidents that took place less than 24 hours apart in the US.

While the two-year-old girl who was shot by her four-year-old brother at her home in Las Vegas was in critical condition, the four-year-old boy shot in his stomach by his three-year-old brother in South Carolina was expected to make a full recovery.u00a0u00a0

The Las Vegas incident took place on Thursday night after the girl's brother found a loaded 9 mm handgun in their home, which went off while he was holding it, hitting his sister's torso. Their father was home at the time.

The other shooting at South Carolina took place while the two brothers were staying at their father's friend's home. One of them found the gun under the bed and accidentally shot his brother.

No charges have been filed in either case, but the incidents kicked up a storm in America over the right to bear arms. There are thought to be more than 200 million firearms in private hands.u00a0

The two shootings came soon after a five-year-old boy found a handgun in his father's vehicle and shot himself in the head. The boy died soon after.