Police said a 3-year-old accidentally fired a gun and killed his mother. They charged the father with a gun crime.

Police said a 3-year-old child accidentally fired a gun and killed his mother. They are looking to charge the father for not securing his gun.

The tragic shooting happened in the parking lot of a Food-4-Less grocery store in Dolton, a suburb of Chicago, Illinois, on Saturday at about 8:30 p.m.

The mother was sitting in the driver's seat with the father in the passenger's seat and the child in the backseat.

“He somehow got ahold of the gun and began playing with it in a playful manner, pointed the gun and fired the shot,” said Dolton Police Robert Collins Jr.

The victim was identified as 23-year-old Daejah Bennett, who was struck in the neck. She was pronounced dead after being transported to the University of Chicago Medical Center.

Collins added that investigators didn't believe the father fired the gun or even knew that the child had gained possession of the gun when it went off.

“The child said he was the one who fired the gun," Collins said, explaining that he was interviewed by a person who specializes in talking to children. “We are confident he fired the gun.”

The father had a license for the gun, but he did not have a conceal carry permit which he would have needed to carry it in the car.

“He was legally entitled to own the gun, however, he transported the weapon in a vehicle in a manner not prescribed by law,” Collins said.

Police detained 23-year-old Romell Watson, the father, and said he would be charged with unlawful use of a gun, a misdemeanor.

“This is just such a tragedy,” Collins concluded.

Here's a local news report about the incident:

3-year-old boy accidentally shoots mother to death in Dolton, police saywww.youtube.com