Police in St. Paul, Minnesota, say they are investigating after a 12-year-old boy "accidentally shot himself" early Monday.

According to the city's police department, the shooting happened around 1:30 a.m. at a residence on the 50 block of Congress Street West.

The boy was taken to Regions Hospital in critical condition.

Police did not say to whom the gun belonged or how the boy got hold of it. Minnesota law criminalizes negligent storage of a firearm when a child could access it. Proposals to stiffen the state's gun storage laws have failed the past two legislative sessions.

According to Johns Hopkins University, 2023 — the latest year data is available — was the fourth straight year in which firearms were the leading cause of death for children in the United States.

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