Pregnant Teen, Unborn Child Killed After Man 'Playing With Gun' Accidentally Fires It: Cops

A 17-year-old pregnant woman from Louisiana and her unborn child have died after a man accidentally shot her while playing with a gun. The suspect and the woman were traveling together in a car.

The man, identified as 23-year-old Chad Blackard from Walker, was arrested for fatally shooting 17-year-old Karrington Smith, who was 25 weeks pregnant, East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office said in an arrest affidavit, The Advocate reported.

The incident happened Saturday evening when Blackard was inside a car with Smith as they were driving south on Siegen Lane.

Blackard reportedly took out his semi-automatic handgun from the holster and bragged about how it "outperforms" the gun owned by another passenger. While re-adjusting his gun, Blackard accidentally squeezed the trigger, and the bullet struck Smith on her back. She was in the front passenger seat.

After Smith got critically injured in the shooting, the driver rushed the car into the parking lot of a local business and called the emergency responders. Smith was then transported to a local hospital but to no avail. Both the teen and her baby were pronounced dead later, the Sheriff's office said.

Before her death, Smith reportedly told police that the gun accidentally fired while it was inside her purse. However, investigators later found out that Blackard was involved in the shooting. During interrogation, Blackard admitted that he was playing with the handgun and it went off while he tried to reposition it.

Blackard has been booked into East Baton Rouge Parish Prison on charges of negligent homicide, third-degree feticide and illegal use of weapons, according to court records, WAFB reported.

Earlier this month, a 4-year-old Georgia boy was killed after he accidentally shot himself with an unsecured handgun he found in his mom's car while the mother went shopping. The child, identified as Miyell Hernandez, was left alone with two other children, including his infant sibling and a 13-year-old relative, in the car that was parked outside a Publix store in DeKalb County.