An American man accidentally shot and killed his 16-year-old daughter, believing she was an intruder attempting to break into their home in a suburb of Ohio, according to police and local media reports.
Details revealed that a woman called emergency services around 4:30 AM on a Wednesday, reporting that her daughter, Janai, had suffered serious injuries from a gunshot in the garage. The father, who fired the shot, was reportedly in shock, asking her about her condition.
While the parents waited for the police to arrive, they pleaded with their daughter to get up, according to the Columbus Dispatch, which reviewed the call recording. However, their attempts were futile as the police report indicated that the girl was pronounced dead an hour later after being transported to a hospital.
A police official commented to local ABC 6 Columbus, the capital of Ohio, stating, "In any case, if you are the person pulling the trigger, it's important to know who your target is."
On December 7, three individuals aged six, nine, and 22 were killed in a shooting less than two kilometers from this incident; the two deceased children attended the same school Janai went to. The Columbus police report noted that this incident marked the 202nd homicide in the city in 2021, a city with a population of around two million people.
The number of violent incidents involving firearms in the United States has increased since the onset of the pandemic, where carrying firearms is constitutionally permitted. Over 44,000 people have been killed since the start of the year, including 1,517 minors, according to the website "Gun Violence Archive."
