5-year-old shoots, kills self after mother locks her in home

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Police say a 5-year-old girl fatally shot herself when her mother locked her inside their home and went to the store...

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Jun 25, 2013

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Police say a 5-year-old girl fatally shot herself when her mother locked her inside their home and went to the store.

The New Orleans Police Department said in a news release the girl was home alone Sunday, somehow found her mother’s revolver, and accidentally shot herself in the head. The mother, 28-year-old Laderika Smith, will be booked on a charge of second-degree murder. Police say her negligence resulted in the death of her daughter.

Upon returning home from the store, police say Smith found her daughter lying on a bedroom floor with a gunshot wound. She died at a hospital.

The jail’s website listed Smith’s birthday as Sunday. It wasn’t immediately clear whether she had an attorney. A call to the jail was not immediately returned.