Toddler fatally shoots his eight-month pregnant mother in United States

A two-year-old toddler fatally shot his mother who was eight months pregnant in the US state of Ohio, police said.

In a statement, the Norwalk Police Department received an emergency call from the 31-year-old victim, who said she was "shot in the back by her two-year-old son", CNN reported on Thursday evening.

She also informed the dispatcher she was eight months pregnant, the statement said.

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Moments later, her husband called 911 and stated "he received a phone call from his wife 'screaming something about my son and needing to call 911'".

Officers arrived at the house and forced entry through a locked front door, according to the statement, adding that the mother and her son "were found in the upstairs master bedroom, along with" a pistol, CNN reported.

The woman was "fully conscious" and gave officers a "complete account of the events that occurred", according to authorities.

She was then transported to a medical centre where an emergency C-section was performed. But her unborn son was later pronounced dead, followed by the woman.

The weapon, along with a spent shell casing, was seized from the home, CNN quoted the police as saying, adding that the pistol's magazine was loaded with an additional 12 rounds.

During their search, detectives seized an additional 12-round magazine for the pistol that the two-year-old had gotten hold of in a nightstand in the master bedroom.

They also discovered a Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun with six rounds in the master bedroom closet and an airsoft rifle in the computer room closet.

The investigation is ongoing, police said.