A six-year-old boy died after accidentally shooting himself in the head with a gun he thought was a toy abandoned at his apartment block.

The boy – identified as Zi Zi Olmstead from Gordon County, Georgia State, USA – died instantly in the horrific shooting at 3am on 5th November.

Tara Olmstead – the boy’s mother – explained that she went outside to let a dog out when Zi Zi told her that he had found a ‘toy’ behind the apartment.

However, she did not take the information too seriously and went inside the flat.

Just moments later Tara reportedly heard a gunshot and rushed to the other room only to find her son on the floor covered in blood.

She immediately alerted Gordon County Police officers who rushed to the scene and found the boy dead with the weapon next to him.

The police later identified the gun as a 9mm G3C Taurus, but would not say who owns it.

Police Chief Tony Pyle said the investigation is ongoing.

Meanwhile the boy’s grandmother Deborah Jean Perkins started a GoFundMe campaign to help the family cover Zi Zi’s funeral costs.

She said: “My daughter Tara Olmstead lost her six year old son on 5th November, 2022 due to a horrible accident.

“She is grieving horribly and needs help with a funeral and other expenses due to this tragedy. Anything at all would be so deeply appreciated!

“She has two other sons to also care for during this time.

“She would like to be able to lay her son to rest with the presence of family and friends.

“This is a cost she can not make happen alone. Thank you very much…”