US mum mistakes daughter for intruder, shoots her in the arm

WASHINGTON - An American woman shot and wounded her 18-year-old daughter when she showed up to pay a surprise visit and the mother thought there was an intruder in the house, reports said Wednesday (Sep 4)

The girl, coming home from college for an unannounced visit, was hit in the arm but will survive Friday's incident in Girard, Ohio, local TV station WFMJ said.

The mother had a licensed .38 Special revolver and was home alone when she heard noise coming from the kitchen or hallway, police chief John Norman told the station.

"She stated that the bedroom door opened where she was at - and she had a gun readily available and fired a round at someone coming through the door," said Norman.

The mother was shocked to learn she had shot her daughter, said Norman.

No charges will be brought against the woman, WFMJ reported on Thursday citing Girard prosecutor Michael Scala.

Scala issued a letter saying the incident did not rise to the level of a crime, but that he also did not want anyone to think the incident was acceptable, reported the news organisation.

"The key question would be if the mother was negligent in not identifying her daughter before shooting. Based on the evidence of 1. The surprise visit, 2. The night season and 3. Mother living otherwise alone, I am declining to file this charge," said the letter.

Scala also said the "castle doctrine", which says individuals have a right to use "reasonable force, including deadly force, to protect themselves against an intruder in their home", was a factor, WFMJ reported.

Gun possession, permitted under the Second Amendment to the US constitution, is widespread in the US.

Around 40,000 people died from gunfire in 2017, according to government figures.

The Gun Violence Archive monitoring group says there have been more than 1,100 unintentional shooting incidents in the United States so far this year that left at least one person dead or wounded.