The mommy, 25-year-old Gabriel Alexis Henderson, was lonely in her Cornelius apartment together with her five children in the time of this shooting Monday, the Cornelius Police Department stated.
Detectives think the kids found a little, semi-automatic handgun at Henderson's handbag, authorities said.
Four of those kids were in the area in the time of the shooting, authorities said, although the fifth kid -- the earliest -- was in a different area, authorities said.
The youngest kid was also"accidentally" shot, authorities said, and has been taken into a hospital using non-life-threatening injuries.
Authorities didn't release the children' ages or titles.
