Father arrested after 6-year-old Cleveland girl shot in face dies

CLEVELAND - The father of the 6-year-old Cleveland girl who died after being shot in the face Saturday has been arrested in connection to his daughter's death.

Nevaeh Benson, 6, was shot in the face around 1:45 p.m. Saturday in the 4100 block of East 116th Street, police said. Authorities rushed the 6-year-old to the hospital where she later died.

On Sunday, detectives arrested the girl's 23-year-old father, among others, in connection to the girl's death.

A witness told our reporter that several known gang members and children were inside the house when the shooting happened. The father reportedly told police he had sent her upstairs to get something, but it was taking too long for her to return. That's when the father claims he went upstairs to check on his daughter and found her dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

The father told authorities he immediately threw the gun out the window when he reportedly realized his daughter shot herself in the back of her head. 

An investigation into the shooting is ongoing. Police are not sure if the gunshot wound was self-inflicted or not.

The father, whose name we won't release until he's been charged, is facing child endangering and having weapons under disability.