16-year-old dies after accidental shooting in Fairfax Co. house

WASHINGTON — A 16-year-old died after he accidentally shot himself in a Fairfax County house Thursday.

Around 7 p.m. Thursday, police responded to a residence in the 8400 hundred block of Del Norte Court in the Alexandria section of Fairfax County for an apparent unintentional discharge of a firearm.

Fairfax County police said Friday that their preliminary investigation indicated the teen, whose name is not being released, was handling a firearm on a bed when the gun accidentally went off. He was hit in the upper body, police said.

The teen was transported to a hospital where he was pronounced dead. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner is conducting his autopsy.

Police have not released details about the gun or who owned the firearm.

Below is a map with the location of the incident:

Sarah Beth Hensley

Sarah Beth Hensley is the Digital News Director at WTOP. She has worked several different roles since she began with WTOP in 2013 and has contributed to award-winning stories and coverage on the website.

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