In the late afternoon of May 25, 2026, eight-year-old Gabriel Sanchez was found with a life-threatening gunshot wound inside his Reidsville, North Carolina home on U.S. Highway 29 North. Emergency services were called about 4:40 p.m., and Gabriel was taken to a local hospital, where he later died. The Guilford County Sheriff’s Office began an investigation into the shooting.

Investigators determined the firearm had been left unsecured and accessible to multiple children in the residence. The office said the child who accessed the weapon did so without lawful permission from a parent or guardian; officials have not released who pulled the trigger. On June 1, 2026, Gabriel’s 19-year-old older brother, Luis Alberto Sanchez Jr., was charged with misdemeanor storage of firearms to protect minors after investigators identified him as the person responsible for the firearm at the time. He was served with a criminal summons and was scheduled for a June 16 court appearance. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner is completing tests to determine Gabriel’s cause and manner of death.

Does anyone in the Reidsville area have information about how the firearm was stored or other details that could help clarify what happened?