Sibling, five, fatally shoots 16-month-old brother in US

A 16-month-old boy was fatally shot by his five-year-old sibling at a northwestern Indiana apartment.

The older sibling accessed a handgun inside the Lafayette apartment on Tuesday afternoon and fatally shot the boy, who was identified as Isiah Johnson, police said.

An autopsy was scheduled for Wednesday to determine the child's cause and manner of death.

READ MORE: What we know about the Nashville shooter Audrey Hale

Lafayette Police Lieutenant Matt Gard said someone outside of the apartment called 911 after the shooting to report that a child was not breathing.

"There was one adult and two children inside the apartment," Gard told the Journal & Courier.

No arrests had been made as of Wednesday morning and the case remains under investigation, police said.

When the investigation is completed, officials said the case will be sent to the Tippecanoe County Prosecutor's Office for review to determine if charges might be filed.

Lafayette is located about 96 kilometers north of Indianapolis.

The shooting is the latest to rock the US, after six people, including three children, were killed in Nashville, Tennessee earlier this week.

Sign up here to receive our daily newsletters and breaking news alerts, sent straight to your inbox.