A two-year-old boy has fatally shot his mother from the backseat of the car she was driving along a Milwaukee highway, relatives said.
Antonio Price said investigators told him that his sister Patrice was driving with her two sons, aged one and two, riding in the backseat on Tuesday when she was shot.
Mr Price said authorities told him the older boy fired the gun. He said that his mother was in the passenger seat and was not struck.
Milwaukee County sheriff’s department said in a statement that a 26-year-old woman was shot once in the back while driving on Highway 175 at about 10.30am on Tuesday and that the shooter appeared to have been a child in the backseat.
The department did not identify the woman nor explain the relationship between her and the child.
First responders attempted CPR, but the woman was pronounced dead at the scene, officials said.
Tributes
Mr Price (28) described his sister as gracious.
He said: “She was the best mom for her kids, put clothes on their back. When I needed her, she always cared for me and gave me great advice.”
Ms Price’s father, Andre, said she was driving her boyfriend’s car when she was shot. He described her as a hardworking mother.
Putnam County sheriff’s officials said the boy had recently learned how to unbuckle himself.
He climbed out of his seat, picked up the gun and fired through the frontseat, hitting his mother in the back, investigators said.
PA