Mother Fatally Shot in Car as Son, 2, Sits in Back Seat: Police

A Louisiana woman was fatally shot in her car while her two-year-old son was in the back seat, according to police.

The New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) was alerted to reports of shots fired at the 2700 block of Orleans Avenue, in the First District, at about 12:54 p.m. on April 25.

When officers arrived, they found a woman inside a vehicle and that she had been shot multiple times.

According to the Gun Violence Archive, a database that collects information about shootings from across the country, 17 people have been fatally shot dead in New Orleans since April 1. The same database found that 86 people in the city have been shot dead since January 1.

An NOPD statement read: "The victim was transported to a local hospital by EMS where she was pronounced deceased a short time later.

"A two-year-old boy was also discovered in the vehicle's back seat and was unharmed. He was turned over to relatives.

"Investigators are currently in the process of gathering evidence and information to identify the person(s) responsible for this incident, as well as a motive. No additional details are currently available."

The statement continued: "The Orleans Parish Coroner's Office will identify the deceased victim and official cause of death upon completion of autopsy and notification of family."

Outlet Nola reported that the mother, Sully Simmons, 33, was shot while her son was strapped into his car seat.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there were 943 homicides in Louisiana in 2021.

The CDC added that the death rate for the state that year was 21.3 for every 100,000 people who lived there.

Louisiana was listed as the state with the second-highest homicide death rate based on its population, with only Mississippi having a higher one in 2021.

Newsweek has contacted the NOPD for comment via email.

There have been other instances across the country where people have been shot in their vehicles while children were in with them.

In 2021, a man and woman were shot to death in a car while a little child was in the back seat.

Detroit police officers carried out a manhunt after a man and woman were shot dead in their car in front of a baby.

Anyone with additional information on this incident is asked to contact NOPD Homicide Detective Arthur Hill at 504-658-5300, or to call Crimestoppers of Greater New Orleans anonymously at 504-822-1111 or toll-free at 1-877-903-STOP.