Boy, 5, playing with gun shoots, kills younger brother, 4

Authorities say a 5-year-old boy playing with a gun accidentally shot and killed his 4-year-old brother after shooting him in the head in their home.

A spokeswoman for the city of East Orange, New Jersey, says the shooting occurred on Saturday. The severely wounded child was being treated at a hospital, but doctors could not save him

The spokeswoman said the gun belonged to the boy's mother.

The 5-year-old, who was originally identified as a 6-year-old, was playing with his mother's gun at about 11 a.m. in a home on Norman Street when he accidentally shot his brother in the head, city spokeswoman Connie Jackson said Saturday. Their mother, Itaniyah Spruill, 22, was home at the time.

Police arrested Spruill on charges of endangering the welfare of a child and a weapons violation in connection with the death. She was being held Sunday in Essex County Jail on $310,000 bail. An arraignment is pending.

Authorities have not revealed how the 5-year-old got a hold of the gun.