A 5-year-old girl was killed Sunday from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head while playing with a gun inside her New Orleans home, AP reports.
The girl's mother, Laderika Smith, 28, told police she locked her daughter in the home so she could go to the store. The child was found lying shot on the floor when she returned.
The mother confessed to having a gun inside the home, which a preliminary investigation found was a .38 revolver. The shooting occurred around 11 a.m.
"All evidence does point to the fact that she shot herself,"Officer Hilal Williams told The Times-Picayune.
Speaking to the Times, Williams said the girl was taken off life support and died late Sunday afternoon. Her name was not released.
Smith was initially charged with cruelty to a juvenile, but it was changed to second-degree murder after the girl died. She pleaded guilty to prostitution in 2010, according to court documents obtained by WWLTV.