Mother Charged After N.J. Boy, 6, Shoots, Kills 4-Year-Old Brother

A 6-year-old New Jersey boy fatally shot his 4-year-old brother in the head while the child was playing with a gun at a home Saturday, authorities aid.

The victim's mother, Itiyanah Spruill, 22, has been charged with endangering the welfare of a child and a weapons violation.

The East Orange woman was arrested Saturday by detectives from the Essex County Prosecutor's Office. Bail has been set at $310,000 by state Superior Court Judge Bridget Stecher.

Spruill will be held in the Essex County Correctional Facility pending arraignment, according to authorities.

The incident happened shortly before 11 a.m., when East Orange police officers were dispatched to a residence at the 100 block of Norman Street in East Orange, according to the Essex County Prosecutor's Office.

Arriving officers discovered that a 4-year-old male had been shot. The child was rushed to University Hospital in Newark, and then pronounced dead at 4:26 p.m., according to Chief Assistant Prosecutor Thomas S. Fennelly of the Prosecutor's Homicide Unit.

The investigation is being conducted by the Essex County Prosecutor's Major Crimes Task Force, which includes detectives from the East Orange Police Department.

At this point, the shooting appears to be accidental, according to Fennelly.

The investigation is continuing at this time.

Photo: Itiyanah Spruill