A 9-year-old boy is dead after he was struck by lightning outside his home in rural central Ohio.

Coshocton County emergency officials were called to the boy's home at about 12:35 p.m. Wednesday, accorrding to Sheriff Tim Rogers. A woman told the emergency dispatcher that her 9-year-old son was struck by lightning and was unresponsive.

A county official told the Coshocton Tribune that they were unsure if the lightning strike was "direct or indirect." The newspaper reported that the boy was playing outside with his younger sister when a thunderstorm developed. The girl reportedly witnessed the lightning strike and ran to tell her mother.

The unidentified child was taken to Coshocton County Memorial Hospital, Sheriff Rogers said, and later died from the injury.