In a horrifying accident, a child shot his own mother in the torso while sitting in the backseat of their car on Wednesday, police in Los Angeles have revealed.

The LA County Sheriff's Office wrote on Twitter that they responded to a disturbing report of a shooting at around 3:30pm local time in Norwalk, California. The cops arrived at the shocking scene to discover a “child sitting in the backseat of a four-door sedan,” who had accidentally shot his mother through the driver’s seat with a shotgun.

Deputies responded to the 14600 block of Dinard Street, Norwalk, and discovered a child sitting in the backseat of a four-door sedan accidentally shot his mother with a shotgun. The victim is listed in fair condition. #Norwalk#LaMirada#Whittier — LASD Norwalk Station (@NorwalkLASD) 24 января 2019 г.

She was rushed to hospital with a gunshot wound to her torso, and is described as being in “fair condition.”

It’s unclear how old the child who pulled the trigger was. However, there were reportedly three children under four in the backseat at the time of the shooting, as well as one young child in the front passenger seat.

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None of the children were injured in the incident. Worryingly though, it did take place just steps away from a preschool, reports ABC News. All four kids are reportedly in the care of the Department of Children and Family Services.

The devastating scenario of children accidentally shooting their parents or themselves is far from unheard of in the US, including cases where kids discover weapons inside cars. According to the gun safety organization Everytown, there were at least 207 unintentional shootings by children across the US last year.

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