A boy of five has shot dead his two-year-old sister in the US with a rifle he was given as a present.

Their mother told police in Kentucky she had been outside on a porch for "no more than three minutes" on when the shooting occurred.

The boy's .22-calibre rifle was a present and he is used to shooting it, police said. It was kept in a corner and the family did not realize a shell was left inside it.

The local coroner said the shooting will be ruled accidental.

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