Toddler shoots 5-year-old to death near Denver

Adam Dean Laham, arrested on suspicion of child abuse resulting in death and criminal negligence, is seen in a police mugshot released by the Lakewood Police Department in Lakewood, Colorado, December 24, 2011. A 3-year-old boy accidentally shot and killed a 5-year-old child in suburban Denver, and Lanham, visiting from Kansas, is under arrest on suspicion of child abuse in connection with the tragedy, police said on Saturday.

DENVER (Reuters) - A 3-year-old boy accidentally shot and killed a 5-year-old child in suburban Denver, and a man visiting from Kansas is under arrest on suspicion of child abuse in connection with the tragedy, police said on Saturday.

Police in Lakewood, Colorado were summoned to an apartment building Friday by reports of a shooting and found the 5-year-old with a gunshot wound to the chest, police spokeswoman Bonnie Martin said in a written release.

The child, whose gender was not disclosed, was pronounced dead at a local hospital, Martin said.

Adam Dean Laham, 23, was arrested on suspicion of child abuse resulting in death and criminal negligence.

Martin described Laham as a "family friend" from Kansas who was staying at the home where the shooting occurred, but she released few other details except that the gunfire was an accident.

Police do not believe Laham was related to either child, and it was not disclosed whether the two children were related to each other.

Laham was jailed in lieu of $40,000 bond, according to the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office.

(Editing by Steve Gorman)