BATON ROUGE - Police say a 3-year-old boy, now identified as Emouri Woodard, died Friday morning after accidentally shooting himself with a handgun. 

The tragedy happened around 7:30 a.m. on Sumrall Drive, just a week after the child had started preschool.

Police Chief TJ Morse described the scene as heartbreaking, not only for the family, but also for the officers who responded.

“You know, the first officer here was here by himself for a little while doing CPR and trying to control bleeding. So definitely got to check on their mental wellness,” Chief Morse said.

The chief said the responding officer was sent home for the rest of the day to recover from the traumatic experience.

Baton Rouge Police have resources in place to support officers, including peer-to-peer programs, counseling services, and critical incident response teams. Chief Morse said it’s not normal to witness scenes like this and that officers’ mental health is just as important as the investigation.

At least four people inside the home were detained and questioned by police as detectives worked to piece together what happened.

Chief Morse also used the tragedy as a reminder about the importance of responsible gun ownership.

“It kind of just goes to stress the importance that we always talk about, responsible gun ownership, gun safety, keeping guns away from kids,” he said.

The investigation into the shooting remains ongoing.