A 12-year-old Louisiana girl has reportedly been charged in the death of her 6-month-old brother.
The girl was charged with first-degree murder in a case the St. Charles Parish Sheriff's Office declared as a homicide Thursday, NOLA.com reports. Police declined to publicly release the name of the victim over concerns of identifying the juvenile suspect and family involved in the case.
"This is a horrific and tragic situation," Sheriff Greg Champagne said in a statement released to NOLA.com Thursday. "The homicide did not involve the use of a dangerous weapon. Due to sensitivity of both the victim and suspect being juveniles, we are unable to comment any further."
Paramedics responded to a medical call at the family's St. Charles Parish home and discovered the infant not breathing, Cpl. James Grimaldi confirmed in the statement. First responders were unable to revive the baby.
St. Charles Parish Sheriff's office detectives obtained a warrant for the sister's arrest and she was taken into custody on Monday while continuing to investigate the case before releasing information to the public on Thursday, NOLA.com reports. The department also wanted to make sure relatives, the court system and St. Charles Parish District Attorney's Office had been properly notified given the ages of the victim and suspect.
The suspect remains in custody at an unnamed juvenile detention facility as of Thursday afternoon. The sheriff's office has not released any additional information at this time.
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