A pregnant woman and her unborn child died after a toddler got hold of a gun and shot her in the back last week, Ohio police said.
Laura Ilg, 31, called 911 on Friday, June 16 afternoon and told the dispatcher she was 33 weeks pregnant and had been shot by her two-year-old son, Norwalk police said in a statement.
Her husband, Alek, called in a report moments later that he had received a call from his wife who was screaming for him to call the police.
Ilg can be heard begging for help in panic in audio from the 911 call released by police.
“I’m upstairs.
I need help,” she tells the dispatcher.
“Is your front door unlocked?” the dispatcher asks.
“Tell them to break in, please, hurry,” she pleads before screaming.
Officers arrived at 1:14 p.m., three minutes after her first call was placed, and forced entry into the home.
She told officers what happened as they rendered aid, police said.
“Laura was transported to Fisher Titus Medical Center, where an emergency cesarean section took place,” police said.
Her unborn son was pronounced dead less than an hour after the 911 call was placed, and Ilg was pronounced dead at 5:10 p.m., police said.
Officers took possession of the gun, a SIG Sauer P365, along with a shell casing and the loaded magazine.
Ilg and her husband told authorities that the handgun was kept on a nightstand in their bedroom.
A 12-gauge shotgun and an airsoft rifle were also in the home, police said.
No charges have been filed.
Police said the investigation findings will be forwarded to the local prosecutor’s office.
In an interview with local media, Norwalk Police Chief David Smith said that while the home had many child-safety features, many of the gates were often open.
“The gun was left out, but it shouldn’t have been accessible to the child,” Smith said. “Apparently she didn’t know he was in the room at the time.”
He said police found a Sig Sauer Micro Imm handgun on a nightstand as well as two other loaded firearms.
Ilg’s husband, who was not at home at the time of the incident, said they belonged to him, according to media reports.
The accidental shooting is the latest in a long line of such incidents in the United States, a country of around 330 million people and some 400 million guns.
In March 2023, a three-year-old girl accidentally killed her four-year-old sister with a handgun near Houston, Texas, despite the presence of five adults including their parents in their home.
About 40 percent of US households have guns, according to the Pew Research Center, with most of those also including children.
But less than half of the households with guns store them safely, according to Johns Hopkins University’s School of Public Health.
Police chief Smith said there had been some safety measures in place at Ilg’s home, but urged gun owners to take precautions.
By Agencies
