Pennsylvania mother charged with killing 2 children at home

AMBRIDGE, Pa. (KDKA) -- A mother is charged with shooting and killing her two children inside their home in Beaver County.

Beaver County District Attorney David Lozier identified the suspect as 48-year-old Krisinda Bright. She is charged with two counts of criminal homicide. Bright was held in the Beaver County Jail.

The Beaver County coroner identified the victims as 16-year-old Jeffery Bright and 22-year-old Jasmine Cannady. Both were shot in the head, the coroner said.

KDKA reports police said Bright called 911 and told dispatchers that she shot the two children.

When officers arrived at the scene, Bright was on the front porch of the home along Maplewood Avenue in Ambridge. Bright reportedly had blood on her hands, arms and clothes.

In custody, Bright told police she shot one of the children while the victim was lying in bed. She told police she then went downstairs and pointed the gun at the other child and pulled the trigger, but said the gun didn’t fire, and after the child said, “Please don’t shoot, I’m gonna call the police,” Bright shot the child in the face. Bright told police the child wasn’t dead, so she got another gun and shot the victim in the head because she didn’t want her child to suffer.

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports the 16-year-old victim was a transgender Ambridge Area High School student who went by Jeffery, or "JJ," according to friends and county officials.

Krisinda Bright’s motive for the killing is not documented in the criminal complaint.