Pregnant mother fatally shot by 2-year-old son after weapon left on nightstand

A pregnant mother was fatally shot by her 2-year-old son after he found a weapon on a nightstand nearby on Friday, authorities said on Tuesday.

Police officers responded to multiple calls from the woman cat around 1 p.m. on Friday, Police Chief David Smith from the Norwalk Police Department told reporters. The woman, Laura Ilg, 31, told operators that she had been shot in the back. 

Soon after, police received a call from Ilg’s husband, Alek Ilg, who told them that his wife urged him to call 911 “screaming something about my son,” but that he was at work at the time.

When police officers arrived at her home, they found her lying on her bedroom floor still conscious. The Sig Sauer Micro 9mm gun was still on the nightstand.

“She explained she was 33 weeks pregnant, and her 2-year-old just accidentally shot her in the back,” Smith said. 

The Ilg was rushed to Fisher-Titus Medical Center, where she underwent a cesarean section. However, doctors were unable to save the baby. The mother died a few hours later. 

The gun was owned by Ilg’s husband and was usually kept on their nightstand. Police found two other weapons when they searched the home: a 12-gauge shotgun in the couple’s closet and an airsoft rifle from another closet. 

According to police, the Ilg was doing laundry in the bedroom and forgot to lock the door behind her so that the toddler could not enter. The toddler then entered the room and began to play with the gun, when it suddenly discharged. 

“If you haven't heard, Laura and our unborn son Talisen passed away Friday,” Alek Ilg wrote after the passing of his wife. “There are no words for the pain and loss I feel. She was, is, and will always be, the love of my life.”

“Trigger locks, gun safes, there are a million varieties, and they aren’t that expensive. At the very least, leave them unloaded,” Smith said, urging families to lock up their guns and not leave them unattended, especially when kids are in the house. 

“Words truly cannot express how heartbreaking this is, and we cannot imagine the pain and heartache,” the police department said in a statement.