Dad shoots dead teen daughter after mistaking her for an intruder in USA’s Columbus city

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A man in America’s Ohio state shot dead his 16-year-old daughter inside their family home on Wednesday after mistaking her for an intruder.</p>
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The teenager, Janae Hairston, was inside the garage at the home, in the state capital Columbus, shortly before 4:30 a.m. when her dad opened fire and killed her, NBC News said in a report on Thursday.</p>
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“My husband made a mistake and shot her because he thought she was an intruder,” the girl’s distraught mother said.</p>
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“She was in our garage and my husband just didn’t know what was going on,” she said. The father, who was not identified, is heard in the background during the 8-minute call pleading, “Breathe baby,” the outlet said.</p>
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The Columbus Police Department said in a report posted on Twitter that the teen was rushed to Mount Carmel East Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 5:42 a.m.</p>
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No charges have been filed in the case, police said.</p>
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The death of Janae Hairston added to the long list of gun violence victims in the United States this year.</p>
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The incident has sent shock waves through the USA and triggered a debate on the country’s gun laws which allow easy access to firearms.</p>
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The tragedy came merely two days after an off-duty North Carolina police officer shot and seriously injured his 15-year-old son in an apparent accident.</p>
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The Columbus Dispatch said 2021 was on track to become one of the deadliest years in the city's history for shootings and homicides.</p>
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Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, gun violence has risen sharply in the United States, where gun rights are a hotly debated issue, but largely protected by the constitution.</p>
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According to the site Gun Violence Archive, more than 44,000 people have been killed by guns in the United States this year, including suicides, of which 1,517 were minors.</p>