A five-year-old girl has been fatally shot in the head allegedly by her 12-year-old brother.

Medine Y., 5, was fatally shot allegedly by her brother, who has been named only as S. Y. due to strict local privacy laws, in the Ibni Sina neighbourhood in the city of Gaziantep, in the south-eastern Turkish province of the same name, on Monday 10th January.

The young girl’s father, who has not been named, reportedly left the family home to go to the market, and the 12-year-old boy and his five-year-old sister started playing.

After hearing some dogs barking, the 12-year-old is said to have taken the rifle that belonged to his father, wanting to fire some shots in the air to scare them away.

But he is said to have accidentally shot his sister in the head while handling the gun. Medics called to the scene could only declare young girl dead. Both parents were taken to a police station where they gave statements before being released.

S. Y. is currently in the care of social workers and a psychologist and he reportedly said that when he heard the dogs barking, his sister had become afraid and he accidentally shot her while firing the rifle to protect her and to keep the dogs away.

S. Y. is currently under the protection of the the Provincial Directorate of Family and Social Services following a decision by the prosecutor’s office. It is currently unclear if he or his parents face any charges.