INDIANAPOLIS — Police said 11-year-old Jordan Robertson accidentally shot and killed himself Sunday afternoon inside a house on East Market Street, near North Sherman Drive, on the east side of Indianapolis. According to police, Robertson was in a house with several other kids when it happened.
"It was really just a hard pill to swallow," said Chezney Cleaver, Robertson's cousin.
His family said Robertson just started sixth grade at Indian Creek Elementary.
"He was smart, he loved sports, he loved to dance, he loved being with his older siblings because he was the youngest of four," said Onyae Green, Robertson's cousin.
They hope other parents see this and think twice about how they store a gun at home.
"Anyone that carries a firearm, please, please, please when there are children present, lock it up, put it in a safe," Cleaver said. "Put it somewhere safe where it can't be reached, it can't be accessed easily."
Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears said his office is seeing more and more cases of accidental shootings involving children, especially in the last few months.
"So many of these situations are just gun being left in drawers or in locations parents think, 'Oh, they don't know it's there,' when in reality, the kid knows exactly what's going on, and that's what they're playing with," Mears said.
Last week, the prosecutor's office filed a Level 1 neglect of a dependent charge, which can carry 20 to 40 years in prison, against the mother of a 6-year-old. Police said in April, that child got ahold of his mother's gun while she was upstairs and shot himself.
"I think a lot of times, you do see some level of delay when filing these cases because you are dealing with parents that just lost a child, and that has a profound impact on people, and it's important to recognize that," Mears said. "At the same time, we have to send that message that this type of behavior cannot be tolerated because we want to save other kids, and we want to save other families from having to experience the loss of that child."
No arrests have been made in Sunday's case, and no charges have been filed. Mears tells 13News his office is involved in the investigation.