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Texas Woman Shot & Killed When Child Picks Up Rifle

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PALESTINE (AP) - Authorities say an East Texas woman was fatally shot after an 8-year-old boy picked up a rifle and it accidentally discharged at a home.

Anderson County Sheriff Greg Taylor says the boy picked up a rifle while in a room with the woman's husband, who was cleaning weapons Saturday. The bullet hit 23-year-old Carmen Danielle Morris in the head. She was in another room.

The Elkhart woman died Sunday at a hospital.

Taylor said the boy was a relative of Morris' husband but was not the couple's child.

Taylor says it's believed the incident was a tragic accident.

(© Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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