Mother accidentally shoots daughter after mistaking gun for cigarette lighter

A 12-year-old girl was wounded by a ricocheting bullet in Banning, when her mother fired a tiny pistol she mistook for a cigarette lighter, police said. Banning police described the incident as an accidental shooting. A photo of the revolver has been realesed by Banning police. A "juvenile gunshot victim" was reported at about 5:40 p.m. on Sunday and officers responded to the emergency room at San Gorgonio Memorial Hospital.

Rachel Avila, 30, told police she and her 12-year-old daughter, both of Banning, were talking with friends in front of their mobile home when Avila found what she thought was a novelty cigarette lighter. The lighter resembled a miniature firearm and it was lying on the ground, Avila told police.



Avila picked it up and tried to light it by pulling the trigger. The first time Avila pulled the trigger, nothing happened. The second time she pulled the trigger, a .22-calibre bullet was fired. "The bullet struck the ground, and then ricocheted upward and entered her daughter’s upper right arm," the police statement said.

The girl was taken to San Gorgonio Memorial, where she was treated and released. The weapon Avila said resembled a cigarette lighter was identified as a North American Arms .22-calibre "derringer style" revolver. The case remains under investigation.