LEWISTON — A 4-year-old boy suffered a fatal gunshot wound early Saturday morning on Pierce Street and an investigation is underway by several agencies.

Police said they were called to 93 Pierce St. at about 4:55 a.m. for a report that a child had been shot in the head.

A friend of the family has said the boy accessed a gun inside his household and accidentally shot himself, although police have not confirmed the manner of the child’s death.

The boy was taken to Central Maine Medical Center but was pronounced dead roughly three hours later, according to a news release from the Maine Department of Public Safety. The child’s body was transported to the medical examiner’s office for an autopsy.

The Lewiston Police Department requested the Maine State Police Major Crimes Unit South respond to assist with the investigation. State police are generally called in on homicides that may turn into criminal matters.

There were no reports Saturday night that anyone had been charged with the child’s death.

Details about how the shooting occurred were not released. The apartment house at 93 Pierce St. is near the corner of Walnut Street.

A neighbor said there are four young children living in the apartment where the shooting occurred. There never seemed to be any major problems there, the neighbor said.

Last week, on Monday, a single gunshot was fired in the area of 79 Pierce St., just down the road from the scene of the Saturday morning shooting. A 15-year-old was later charged with reckless conduct in connection with that shooting.

The Department of Health and Human Services was notified, which is protocol when there is a death of a child in a household, police said. The cause and manner of death are pending an autopsy.

The Maine State Police Major Crimes Unit South, Lewiston Police Department, and DHHS are still investigating the death.