MONROE, Ga. — A 31-year-old mother is behind bars after her 4-year-old daughter was shot several times inside their home late Thursday night, according to police.
Officers responded to a residence on Ridge Road around 9:44 p.m. on July 23, 2026, after receiving a call reporting an unclear disturbance. When police arrived, a 12-year-old girl opened the door and told them her little sister was bleeding inside the house.
Rushing upstairs, officers found Ashley Brown holding her wounded daughter, who had been shot multiple times. Police say officers immediately began first aid on the child and carried her out of the home themselves before handing her off to paramedics. She was then rushed to a pediatric trauma center in the Atlanta area.
As of Friday morning, the young girl remained in critical condition in the hospital’s intensive care unit, authorities confirmed.
Brown was taken into custody and now faces a lengthy list of charges, including aggravated assault, aggravated battery, two counts of first-degree cruelty to children, possession of a firearm during a felony, and discharging a firearm near a roadway.
Investigators say Brown admitted to shooting her daughter, though the motive behind the shooting has not been disclosed. She is currently being held at the Walton County Jail.
Neighbors described the scene as chaotic and disturbing. One resident said he saw flashing lights fill the street and never imagined something so violent could happen in his own neighborhood. Another neighbor recalled watching an officer carry the injured child straight to a waiting ambulance just minutes after police arrived.
Monroe’s police chief called the shooting a heartbreaking tragedy, saying it’s difficult to comprehend what the young victim must have experienced.
The child’s current medical condition has not been made public since her hospital transfer, and police have not released further details about what led up to the shooting.