Sheriff: Mother charged after 8-year-old shoots his 4-year-old sister

ASHLAND, Ohio -- (WJW) -- A 29-year-old mother is behind bars after deputies say she left her children home alone, and her 8-year-old son was able to get a gun and shoot his 4-year-old sister.

Alyssa Edwards is facing two charges of child endangering. She is being held in the Ashland County jail.

Chief Deputy Carl Richert, with the Ashland County Sheriff's office, Says detectives are still trying to determine how the boy got the gun. The shooting happened Saturday afternoon.

He said the boy's step father was at work when the incident happened and he thought Edwards was home with the children.

Richert said the girl is in stable condition at a Cleveland hospital. He said she was shot several times, including once in the stomach area.

“God was with her that day,” Richert said. “Thank God she will be OK.”

Sheriff officials say the boy used a small caliber rifle. He said the boy is not expected to be charged because he is so young.

Neighbors who lived near the family in the village of Hayesville said they often saw the children outside playing.