The 5-year-old girl who died from a gunshot in Scarborough on Monday accidentally shot herself in the head, state police said Wednesday.
Elise Dorr found a .45-caliber handgun owned by her father, Todd Dorr, in a backpack in a bedroom, state police said.
Todd Dorr told authorities he was in the bedroom with his daughter and heard the gunshot as he moved across the room to adjust the TV. The semi-automatic handgun was fully loaded, and the girl and her father were the only two people in the room at the time, state police spokesman Steve McCausland said.
Maine State Police said no charges have been filed, but the case will be reviewed by a prosecutor when the investigation is completed.
Detectives said the girl removed the gun from a backpack and was on the bed when it went off. The gun was not in a holster and there was no gun lock.
One of Elise’s grandfathers said the family is mourning Elise’s death and asked Wednesday for privacy.
“Elise’s loss is a tragedy beyond our imagination,” Robert McKee Jr. of Belfast said in a statement from the family. “She is in the arms of Jesus now.
“Todd and Virginia (Elise’s mother), myself and our family are in mourning,” he said. “The family asks for time to grieve and heal.”
Todd and Virginia Dorr were house-sitting for his parents at 17 Milliken Road in Scarborough with two of Elise’s older siblings at the time of the shooting, state police said Tuesday.
Elise was expected to start pre-kindergarten at RSU 71 in Belfast next week, the family said.
The girl shot herself in the home around 7:30 p.m. Monday and was taken by ambulance to Maine Medical Center in Portland, where she died, state police said.
On Tuesday, McCausland said the family was cooperating fully with the investigation.
Neighbors who live in the Milliken Road neighborhood, a short stretch of homes between Anjon’s Restaurant on Route 1 and Payne Road, said a couple in their late 50s lived in the house, but they didn’t know much about them.
The home where the shooting occurred is owned by Robert and Doris Dorr, according to the Scarborough assessor’s database. Police said they were not home at the time of the shooting.
Elaine Politis, who lives next door, said the elder Dorrs “were very good neighbors” and have lived in the house for at least 10 years.
Courier Gazette Staff Writer Stephen Betts contributed to this report.
Matt Byrne can be contacted at 791-6303 or at:
mbyrne@pressherald.com
Twitter: MattByrnePPH
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