A 3-year-old child was killed in a shooting Sunday morning on the 7900 block of North 64th Court.

The Milwaukee Police Department is investigating the fatal shooting, which occurred around 10:23 a.m.

The victim was pronounced dead after being taken to a hospital. The investigation is ongoing. Police recovered two guns at the scene.

In 2020, gun violence became the leading cause of death for children in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

No more than 10 children died by homicide in Milwaukee from 2016 through 2019. But in each of the three full years since, 20 or more have been killed, according to the Homicide Review Commission.

Child homicides did drop in Milwaukee last year, from 27 to 21. However, children are still shot and killed at roughly twice the rate of pre-pandemic years, according to data from the Medical College of Wisconsin.

Public health officials, law enforcement and academics have pointed to easy access to firearms by children and increased gun carrying in general as factors behind a rise in child gun deaths.

More: As a community, Milwaukee’s trying to reduce gun violence. Here’s how 3 efforts are doing.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: A 3-year-old child was killed in a shooting Sunday morning