A 16-year-old girl whom police said was mistaken for a house intruder was fatally shot by her father in Ohio.
The incident took place early Wednesday on the Southeast Side of Columbus, Ohio, with police being called to an address on Piper Ridge Drive at around 4.30 am.
It is alleged that someone inside the house had shot at what they believed to be an intruder, following the home’s security system being activated.
As the Columbus Dispatch reports, the call was made by the mother of teenager Janae Hairston, who, according to the report, had just been shot in the garage by her father in a tragic case of mistaken identity.
The call lasts for around eight minutes in total, with Janae Hairston’s father audibly distraught in the background, asking what his daughter was doing in the garage at that time.
Both mother and father can then be heard attempting to wake the girl up, before repeatedly asking the phone operator how much longer the police were going to be. Officers arrived just five minutes after the call was placed.
Ms Hairston was then taken to Mount Carmel East Hospital in Columbus, where she subsequently died around one hour later. She was a junior at Canal Winchester High School, the district confirmed on Wednesday, where counsellors have been made available to students upon their return from winter break.
Detectives are continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding the young girl’s death, with the case now being forwarded to the Franklin County Prosecutor’s office for review.
No charges have been filed by the authorities at this stage, who are currently appealing to local residents to come forward with additional information that could be pertinent to the case.
