Police said an 8-year-old sibling was handling a gun inside a car when the shot was fired Tuesday afternoon.
BATON ROUGE, La. — A 10-year-old girl died Tuesday after an apparent accidental shooting outside a Sonic Drive-In on Government Street, where Baton Rouge police said her younger sibling fired a gun from inside a car parked near the restaurant.
The child was identified as Kimani Thomas by the East Baton Rouge Parish Coroner’s Office. Police said the shooting happened around 4:12 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. Tuesday, March 10, near the Sonic by Interstate 10. The case quickly drew attention from city leaders and police brass because it involved two children, a firearm left within reach and a family tied to the business where the shooting happened.
Investigators said Thomas’ mother and stepfather both worked at the Sonic. According to police, the stepfather was heading into work and the mother was leaving her shift when the shooting happened. Baton Rouge police said the children were waiting with the car for a few minutes while the adults were inside. During that time, an 8-year-old sibling got hold of a gun inside the vehicle and fired it. Police said Kimani was outside the car when she was struck. She later died from her injuries. Baton Rouge Police Chief TJ Morse said officers were still working to determine exactly how the gun was accessed and what happened in the moments before the shot was fired.
Morse said investigators were reviewing surveillance video and interviewing witnesses from the area around the restaurant and parking lot. He said the department was treating the case seriously even as early evidence pointed to an accidental shooting. “Whether it was accidental or not, keeping guns out of the hands of people who shouldn’t have them is something we’re striving to enforce,” Morse said. By Wednesday morning, police had publicly described the shooting as involving siblings, but authorities had not announced any arrests or charges. They also had not said who owned the gun, how it was stored before the shooting or whether any criminal counts would follow. Those unanswered questions are likely to shape the next stage of the case.
The shooting happened in a highly visible stretch of Government Street near the interstate, turning an ordinary work shift into a deadly scene. The case also added to a painful run of youth gun deaths in Baton Rouge. Police and local media reports said Kimani was the second child to die from gun violence in the city in less than 72 hours. Over the weekend, 8-year-old Davian Nicholas was killed after he was struck by a stray bullet while playing basketball during a shootout tied to an argument on San Juan Drive. The two cases are different in cause and setting, but together they sharpened attention on how easily children can become victims when guns are nearby.
Carolyn Coleman, the Metro Council member who represents the area, went to the scene Tuesday and said the back-to-back deaths had shaken the community. “Within 72 hours, we’ve lost two children! Two!” Coleman said. She said the city was not talking about adult offenders but about young victims whose lives ended before they had a chance to grow up. A neighborhood resident, Gregory Keith, also criticized the presence of guns around children and called the situation irresponsible. Police have not announced a timetable for completing the investigation, but the next steps are expected to include more witness interviews, a full review of video from the property and decisions about whether anyone will face charges tied to how the firearm was left accessible.
As of Wednesday, the investigation remained open, with police still piecing together the chain of events outside the Sonic and awaiting the next public update on whether the case will lead to charges.
Author note: Last updated March 11, 2026.