A four-year-old girl accidentally shot herself and her mother in the head after she picked up a handgun from her parents' nightstand.
Police say the bullet went through the girl's cheek before hitting her sleeping mother in the back of the head.
The incident, which happened in Indianapolis at about 8.30am on Sunday morning, was described by the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department as an "unfortunate tragedy".
The father of the girl told officers he and his fiancée were asleep when he was woken up by the sound of the gunshot.
He added his two-year-old son was in the room, but was not hurt.
Both the girl and her mother were rushed to hospital for treatment.
The girl is said to be in a stable condition, while the mother's condition is unknown.
The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department later tweeted: "Curious kids and loaded guns have deadly consequences. Please secure your firearms and store out of reach of your little ones."
