Police say 9-year-old dies after being shot in face by brother

<p>Police say a 9-year-old boy died Sunday when he was shot in the face by his 12-year-old brother in what Oconee County authorities say was an accident.</p><p>Nicholas Pope and his brother were in the living room of the home of their parents, Beth and Eric Pope, when the 12-year-old shot Nicholas in the face with the family's .22-caliber hunting rifle shortly before 11 a.m., police said.</p><p>"There is no reason to think there was any malice involved in the shooting," Oconee County Sheriff Scott Berry said. "It appears to be just a terrible tragedy. Obviously, we are just in the first phase of this investigation, but we don't expect that there will be any charges filed at this time."</p><p>Nicholas was a fourth grade student at Oconee County Elementary School.</p><p>Berry said the brothers had been arguing over a cell phone, adding that there was no evidence that the argument led to the shooting.</p><p>___</p><p>HASH(0x1cda2a4)</p>