A California woman shot and killed herself while driving Saturday after her 9-year-old refused her request to do it for her.
Authorities report that the woman, who is not being identified, handed her daughter a 9 mm handgun and asked her to kill her because she was having a severe asthma or emphysema attack.
State police Lieutenant Roman Jimenez tells the Associated Press,
“She told her to shoot her. And she wouldn’t. The daughter said she has had these kinds of attacks before, but she’d never been suicidal.”
After the young girl refused, the woman then grabbed the gun and fired a shot into her own chest.
The AP reports that the car rolled to a stop on the shoulder of the highway and nearby motorists attempted to help the woman before her death.
The girl was not injured and has been taken into protective custody.
Alcohol and drugs are not suspected factors in the shooting.
