Kentucky toddler accidentally shot by 5-year-old brother

A child in Kentucky died this week after she was shot with her older brother's fifth birthday present: a .22-caliber rifle.

CNN reports that 2-year-old Caroline Starks' brother shot her in Burkesville on Tuesday after her mother had stepped out of the house, leaving the two children without supervision. The child-size gun the boy had in hand was made by the company Crickett, which uses the slogan "My First Rifle."

[ Related: Five-year-old boy accidentally kills sister with his own rifle ]

It's common for young children in the area to have guns, a spokesperson for the Kentucky State Police told the television station.

The son had received the gun for his birthday last year, according to the Associated Press. The news wire reported the boy's parents didn't know there was a shell in the rifle when it was last stored.

Police ruled the death accidental, according to CNN. Still, the tragedy raises questions about whether children as young as five should have access to guns, not to mention the ethics of marketing guns to youth.

A 4-year-old boy in in Lebanon, Tennessee killed a deputy sheriff's wife in early April, after he found a handgun and shot her, according to Reuters. Two days later, Reuters reported a 4-year-old in Toms River, New Jersey, shot his friend. The 6-year-old boy died the next day.

[ Related: U.S. senators feeling sting for voting against gun control measures ]

As such incidents pile up, the rhetoric of U.S. gun ownership rights becomes more and more obscured by a trail of violence and tragedy.