Teenage Boy Dead After Accidentally Shooting Himself With Replica 18th Century Toy Cannon

(The Blaze/AP) -- A 14-year-old Utah boy is dead after police say he accidentally shot himself with a miniature toy cannon.

Authorities say the boy was playing with the toy at about 7:30 a.m. Monday in his living room in Tremonton, about 75 miles north of Salt Lake City. Tremonton Police Chief David Nance says the boy was struck in the face after the cannon somehow went off.

The boy's older brother was in the room at the time, and the boy's father also was in the house. The boy, who hasn't been identified, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Investigators are still trying to determine how a propellant got into the cannon, which is described as an 18th century replica with a six-inch metal barrel and a wooden base. Nance says the toy has no shooting mechanism.