SUBURBAN BOCA RATON, FL -- It was just last week when Sharda Brijmohan was napping in her bed.
She said she never could have imagined that her first grade daughter would find a gun in a nightstand and shoot her.
"She probably, I don't know, in her little mind thought it was not loaded and she took it out and you know, it went off," Brijmohan said.
Two shots, one in her arm, another in her chest. Her voice was weakened by the injuries.
Last Friday her home was a crime scene as the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office investigated how a gun made it into the hands of a 7 year old girl.
"It was an unfortunate accident," said Brijmohan.
Brijmohan says the family had purchased the gun about six months ago.
"My husband got it as a protection because as of late there's a lot of break-ins in the neighborhood," she said.
Brijmohan said it's normally kept in a safe, but the night before, her husband had gotten it out after hearing a noise.
"He just honestly forgot to put it in. That's it. Put it back in the lock box," she said.
The next day Bridjmohan dozed off. Her daughter found the loaded 9mm in a nightstand drawer and fired.
"It's an unfortunate accident but I guess I was fortunate that day and I'm glad that it was me and not my daughter," Brijmohan said.
She said she plans to keep the gun out of reach and continue to educate her children on the dangers.
"Yes, am I thinking about not having a gun now? Of course I'm thinking about it.
Like I said, it's an unfortunate world that we live in that you've got to protect yourself some way or some how," she said.
Her biggest concern is the mental health of her child.
"She's sorry, she knows she did something wrong," Brijmohan said.
She doesn't want the accident to scar her child's life the way it's scarred her own body.
"I don't want her to feel like it was her fault," she said.
Brijmohan said she has about 6-8 weeks of therapy before she plans to return to work.
She said she feels parents should let children know if there's a gun in the house so they can be properly educated.
