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ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. – A 9-year-old girl is being credited with saving the lives of her 5-year-old and 2-year-old brothers from their mother after she allegedly tried to kill them all Wednesday afternoon.

According to our news partners at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the incident unfolded at the family’s home in the 1300 block of Wickstead Road near Queeny Park.

The St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged 35-year-old Syeda W. Sirajuddin with two counts of first-degree assault, two counts of first-degree endangering the welfare of a child, and one count of armed criminal action.

The Post-Dispatch reported Sirajuddin picked up the children from school on Wednesday and then gave them all sleeping pills. The 9-year-old supposedly didn’t take the pills because she didn’t like the taste.

Sirajuddin then attempted to smother her 2-year-old son with a blanket.

The 9-year-old later heard her mother yelling and came to find her attempting to stab her 5-year-old brother with a kitchen knife. The girl wrestled the knife away from her mother and hid the weapon.

The woman had called her husband and police to report that she had killed the children, the Post-Dispatch reported. Police found her in the living room a short time later and took her into custody.

The 5-year-old was hospitalized.