Oct. 30 — An 8-year-old Clayton girl is in critical condition after she was shot in the head Tuesday morning in what New Mexico State Police described as an accidental shooting.

The girl’s brother, Gio Blan, 17, faces charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and tampering with evidence, state police said in a news release.

The release states the boy was at home getting ready for school with his siblings when he pointed what he believed to be an unloaded gun at his sister’s head and pulled the trigger.

The brothers attempted to provide medical aid before calling 911, the release said. Police say Blan disassembled the gun and threw it in a nearby dumpster.

State police wrote that the gun “did not belong to anyone at the residence,” but investigators have not released information about how Blan got access to the gun or whether officers expect to file more charges in the shooting.

Police have not identified the girl who was shot, but the agency said she was taken to a Texas hospital in critical condition.