Deputies: Boy, 12, accidentally shoots, kills brother, 11

HOCKLEY, Texas – Deputies said a 12-year-old boy accidentally shot and killed his 11-year-old brother with a shotgun they were playing with while they were home alone.

The shooting happened Sunday at 11:15 a.m. at a house in the 28000 block of Greenbriar Drive near Joseph Road in Hockley, Waller County.

Deputies said the parents were at work when the two boys found shotguns in the bedroom closet. Investigators said the boys were playing with the guns when the shotgun went off, hitting the 11-year-old boy, Gage Rogers, in the back. 

Gage was taken to the Tomball Regional Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. 

The brother was taken to the Justice of the Peace Office, but released later to his parents. 

There's no word yet if the boy or his parents will face charges. That decision will likely be made by a grand jury.

"The guns were normally left in a locked bedroom, and we verified that with a number of people that the bedroom normally stayed locked," Capt. Joe Hester said. "Right now, it's just a tragic accident. Somehow the door was left open and the boys got a hold of the shotgun."

Children's Protective Services is investigating the case.