( CNN ) The mother called 911 to say her 5-year-old boy shot his baby brother with a paintball gun . But it was n't a paintball gun . It was a .22-caliber Magnum revolver . And the 9-month-old boy did n't survive . Authorities are trying to figure out what led to Monday 's shooting in Elmo , in the northwest corner of Missouri . `` At this point foul play is not suspected , and it appears at this time that the shooting was accidental , '' the Nodaway County Sheriff 's Office said . Sheriff Darren White told CNN affiliate KCTV that the baby was in a playpen when his brother found the gun lying around a bed . When emergency crews arrived , they found the infant had been shot in the head . The child was flown to Children 's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City , Missouri , where he was pronounced dead , the station reported . Authorities say the gun belongs to a relative , but not the mother . Police are investigating the gun 's ownership , KCTV reported . The mother 's other three children are with relatives , according to the station . The sheriff said guns are rampant in the rural community . `` We are big supporters of firearms around here , '' White told CNN affiliate KETV . `` We have a lot of people that own weapons . They hunt . They target shoot . ... Most people are very safe with them , and this is one of those cases where everything went together in the wrong way . '' He added , `` We got some guys that work here that have little kids of their own . ... This kind of hits home with them , too . They take it personally . '' Though they say the shooting was accidental , authorities have not determined whether charges will be filed against any adult in the case . At least one nearby resident told KCTV she believes the shooting could have been easily prevented . `` You know , just some gun safety could have come into play , and would have maybe , you know prevented the situation , but it 's just really sad , altogether , '' neighbor Jessica Hutchison said . According to Project ChildSafe , gun owners should lock unloaded weapons in a safe , vault or cabinet inaccessible to children . Gun locks should be used in addition to safe storage , and ammunition should be locked away separately from any firearm . Parents should also teach their children that if they find a gun in a house , they should leave it where it is and tell an adult , even if the weapon resembles a toy , the advocacy group says . Monday 's incident is the latest in a series of high-profile shootings involving children . Among them , a 4-year-old girl killed her cousin , also 4 , in Detroit while playing with a gun found under a bed last January , a 9-year-old accidentally killed a shooting instructor in August while firing a submachine gun at an Arizona range and last month a 2-year-old fatally shot his mother in an Idaho Walmart after finding a gun in her purse . CNN 's Eliott C. McLaughlin contributed to this report .
Police investigating gun 's ownership , station reports . The shooting appears to be accidental , sheriff 's office says . The 5-year-old found the gun lying around a bed , KCTV says .