ATHENS, Ala. – A New Year’s Eve party turned deadly for a small child in the northern Alabama town of Athens in Limestone County.

A five-year-old girl was fatally shot early Sunday morning at a party on Buckskin Drive in Athens, Alabama. 

Fidel Rodriguez Canchola, 34, was arrested in connection to the shooting, which the Limestone County Sheriff’s Office said was accidental.

Deputy Stephen Young, public information officer for the Limestone County Sheriff’s Office, said Sheriff Mike Blakely and Investigator Lance Royals located Rodriguez at his home at 7:20 a.m. Sunday.

“At 12:06 this morning, deputies responded to a residence on Buckskin Drive, where the victim had been shot once in the chest,” Young said. “She was pronounced dead at Athens-Limestone Hospital.”

Young said about 30 people were at the home for a New Year’s Eve party. Initially nobody in the group said they had seen or heard anything except gunshots coming from down the street, Young said.

Investigators recovered several .22 caliber shell casings at the scene.

After interviewing those on the scene, investigators were able to determine that Rodriguez had allegedly fired several rounds in the yard toward the ground when the girl walked out into the line of fire, Young said. Rodriguez ran away before deputies arrived, according to Young.

“When he realized what happened, he got scared and ran,” Young said. 

The .22 caliber revolver was recovered on the other side of a fence at the location.

Rodriguez was arrested at his home Sunday morning without incident.

“While every accidental death is tragic,” Sheriff Blakely said, “it’s especially difficult when you lose a young child. The sad thing is that incidents like this are 100 percent preventable with a little common sense.”

The Limestone County Sheriff’s Office is reminding the community about gun safety.

“Firearms are not fireworks,” Blakely said. “They should never be used when alcohol is consumed, and all proper safety precautions must be taken.”

Scripps writes for The News Courier in Athens, Alabama.