patti.ward@gaflnews.com

CAIRO — Siblings of a Cairo boy who police believe accidentally shot himself to death Monday are in foster care.

Cairo Police Chief Keith Sandefur Jr. said Thursday that because of living conditions at the family’s home, police asked that the Grady County Department of Family and Children Services (DFACS) take temporary custody of the shooting victim’s brother and sister.

Police said Benjamin Rykard, 12, fired a fatal shot into his head with a semiautomatic .45-caliber pistol he found under a bed pillow in his parents’ bedroom.