Man Arrested After Toddler Shoots Mom With Shotgun Left In Car

NORWALK, CA — Police arrested a man Thursday on a myriad of charges connected to a toddler's shooting of his mom Wednesday in Norwalk. According to detectives, the tot found the shotgun in the backseat of the family car and fired on his mother, who was sitting in the driver's seat.

Authorities have not publicly released the names of the woman shot nor the man arrested in the case. He faces multiple felony charges including criminal storage of a firearm and child endangerment, according to the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department. It doesn't appear that the man was in the car when the shooting occurred. Police did not say what his relationship to the family is.

Deputies responded about 3:30 p.m. Wednesday to the 14600 block of Dinard Street to investigate a report of gunshot victim at the location, according to Deputy Juanita Navarro-Suarez of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

Upon arrival, they found the woman, a resident of Norwalk, with a gunshot wound to her mid-body, Navarro-Suarez said.

She was taken in critical condition to a hospital, where her condition was later upgraded to fair, the deputy said.

"Preliminary information gathered at the scene revealed that the female's three children were in the backseat of the vehicle when one of the children accessed an unsecured shotgun and shot her through the back of the seat," Navarro-Suarez said.

The child is less than 4 years old, according to the sheriff's department.

"The three children in the backseat, another female adult and young child who sat in the front passenger seat were not injured," according to Navarro-Suarez.

The shotgun was recovered.

All four children were taken into the custody of the county Department of Children and Family Services.

City News Service and Patch Staffer contributed to this report. Photo: Shutterstock