The Hinesville Police Department is investigating a Sunday shooting on Elm Street in which a 14-year-old girl allegedly shot and killed Brianna Poole, 16.

HPD Chief of Detectives Maj. Thomas Cribbs said the shooting, which authorities are calling accidental, happened around 6 p.m. in the 400 block of Elm Street. The two teenage girls reportedly were home alone at the time of the shooting. The 14-year-old told HPD Detective Al Cato that she and Poole had been tossing a .380-caliber semi-automatic handgun back and forth when it apparently discharged, striking Poole in the mouth. The teen told authorities the gun had been in her mother’s dresser drawer. The 14-year-old said she removed the gun’s clip.

Cribbs said police and EMS personnel arrived at the scene and tried to revive Poole. HPD Officer Michael Dye continued to perform CPR on the unresponsive girl as first responders loaded her into an ambulance.

Poole was taken to Liberty Regional Medical Center in Hinesville, where she later died, Cribbs said. The girl, who lived in Atlanta, was visiting family members in the Hinesville area, and she had been staying at the Elm Street residence for a few days, visiting the 14-year-old, with whom she reportedly had been friends for five years.  

The 14-year-old is being interviewed by police. The deceased teen was taken to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s crime lab in Augusta on Tuesday for an autopsy, which since has been completed.