LAPLACE — A local girl playing unattended in her father’s LaPlace home was killed by a self-inflicted gunshot Saturday morning while her father was in the shower, police said.

Haley Moore, 5, shot herself one time with a .45 caliber handgun on the right side of her chest area, according to the St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff’s Office.

The Sheriff’s Office incident report indicated Haley was found lying in the kitchen in a pool of blood.

The victim’s father, Eric Moore, was the only adult home when the shot was fired.

Authorities were alerted to the shooting at 9:44 a.m. when Eric Moore called 911. Haley was still alive when rushed from the scene by emergency medical services and later succumbed to her injuries at the hospital, police said.

Sheriff Mike Tregre said he just left the office when the shooting call came out over the radio.

“I went to the house and saw the young girl,” he said. “We put her on the stretcher and proceeded to get her to the hospital as fast as we could. We blocked all of the lights. Seconds count. The Sheriff’s Office and the Fire Department did the best we could.”

The shooting took place at 19 Country Club Drive in LaPlace.

Eric Moore’s two other children were with him Saturday; however, police declined to say where they were during the shooting.

Authorities described the handgun used in the shooting as unsecured in the residence.

As of Tuesday morning, authorities had not made any arrests.

Sheriff’s Office Lt. Greg Baker said a thorough investigation is ongoing, adding the process is tedious and he was not sure when it would be completed.

Baker and Sgt. Dane Clement said the Sheriff’s Office would turn over the results of its investigation to the District Attorney’s Office.

District Attorney Bridget A. Dinvaut said the Sheriff’s Office would determine if probable cause exists or a crime has been committed, then the D.A.’s Office would review the evidence to determine if it is sufficient to meet the elements of the crime charged under the law.

“If so, then the District Attorney’s Office will evaluate the prosecutorial merit of the case moving forward,” Dinvaut said, adding she can’t comment on if the case could possibly be brought before a grand jury.

“At this time, the only thing I know about this case is that it is under investigation by the Sheriff’s Office,” Dinvaut said. “I’m not sure what the facts are or what the evidence is. I don’t know anything about this case and I’m not going to prematurely comment on the case.”

Dinvaut said she is not sure when the Sheriff’s Office will present her office with its evidence.

Response

Haley Moore’s siblings attend LaPlace Elementary School, where counselors were on hand this week to speak with children about the shooting.

According to the public school district, Haley has a brother in kindergarten and a sister in second grade attending the school.

Superintendent Kevin George and principal Alison Cupit did not return calls for comment.

Sheriff Tregre said he is checking on his officers and fire department personnel to see if anyone needs counseling.

“This isn’t something we normally deal with or want to deal with,” he said. “Anytime something like this happens, you want to make sure everybody is doing OK. Even though we are police officers or first responders, when you have an incident like this, it can effect you.”

St. John Parish Councilman Buddy Boe, who’s District includes Country Club Drive, said the shooting reminds everyone that life is precious.

“Guns are absolutely important to the fabric of America, but gun safety is just as, if not more important, to make sure they are operated in a safe manner,” Boe said. “This incident is just unfortunate.”

The loss of a child is gut-wrenching, Boe said, adding this was made worse because Haley was killed in such a physically hurtful way.

The District 7 representative said he couldn’t think of a similar incident in recent years.

“I do know of many families that have guns in their homes, all legal guns,” Boe said. “I think this incident should be a lesson for everyone to make sure that gun safety is practiced in and out of the home. We need to protect the youngest and the most innocent from accidently harming themselves like this incident, which is just horrible. Hopefully this is a learning event that could save many more lives in the future.”

Boe described the neighborhood around the shooting as a very safe, middle class area with lots of families on streets that border two country clubs.

Neighborhood

Garry Mackles has lived in the area for 38 years. His house is next door to Eric Moore’s.

He wasn’t home when Haley was killed, but said Eric’s children visited their father occasionally.

“This is such a tragedy,” Mackles said. “I know that his job as a security guard requires him to be armed. I know he was in the military; he was in the Army. We never really went into detail about what he did in the military.”

Mackles said he and Eric talk occasionally, adding he had loaned Eric his riding lawn mower from time to time, adding he is pleasant to talk with.

Attempts to reach Eric Moore for comment were unsuccessful.

— Staff writers Raquel Derganz Baker, Lori Lyons and Stephen Hemelt contributed to this report.