A pregnant Ohio mother and her unborn baby were killed after her toddler accidentally shot her in the back.
Thirty-one-year-old Laura Ilg was still conscious when officers with the Norwalk Police Department responded to her 911 call on Friday afternoon (19 June). After law enforcement broke inside the property, Ilg told officers that her two-year-old son had managed to get ahold of a gun in the house and accidentally opened fire on her.
The mother-of-two was in a second-floor bedroom. She was reportedly in shock but remained calm when she recounted the tragedy to police, Cleveland 19 reported.
Ilg, who was 33 weeks pregnant, was rushed to the Fisher-Titus Medical Center, where doctors performed an emergency C-section. However, both Ilg and her newborn baby died as a result of the injuries they sustained during the shooting, Police Chief Dave Smith said during a press conference on Tuesday.
Mr Smith said that a SIG Sauer micro 9 mm handgun was recovered from the scene. Authorities concluded that the home did have several safety features installed to keep the child from gaining access to the gun, including baby gates and a bedroom lock, Mr Smith said.
However, on the day of the shooting, the bedroom door was accidentally left open. The gun was on a nightstand inside, police said.
Ilg managed to tell police that she was doing laundry when her son came inside the room while playing with the gun and shot her in the back.
Police have determined that the weapon belongs to Ilg’s husband, who currently has custody of the boy.
An investigation into how the weapon operates and the circumstances surrounding the shooting is now underway.
“The Norwalk Police Department offers our sincere and heartfelt condolences to the family, friends, and all those affected by the tragic passing of the young mother and her unborn son,” the department said in a statement. “Words truly cannot express how heartbreaking this is, and we cannot imagine the pain and heartache you’re feeling.”
