The district attorney's office said Daisy Vasquez, 31, is facing third-degree felony charges of Endangering Welfare of Children, Possession of a Firearm by a Minor-Responsibility of Adult, and other related charges.
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Dr. Ian Hood, a forensic pathologist with the Montgomery County Coroner's Office, performed an autopsy on the body of the 12-year-old which determined the cause of death was a single gunshot wound to the chest and the manner of death was a homicide.
RELATED: 13-year-old boy charged in shooting death of 12-year-old sister in Montgomery County
Police were called to a home on Larchwood Court in the Collegeville section of Upper Providence Township around 7:51 a.m. on March 19, the district attorney's office said.
Officials say Vasquez asked her son to go outside to her car to get a 9mm handgun that was legally registered to her.
Authorities say the 13-year-old entered the house with the handgun and pointed it at his sister, Jasiyah Vasquez.
The victim then collapsed after the gun was discharged, officials say. Home surveillance video showed the shooting.
According to authorities, Vasquez subsequently lied to detectives about the events that led up to the shooting.
"The death of this girl is a tragedy, but it could have been prevented. A pivotal aspect is the mother asking her child to go outside to the driveway to retrieve her handgun from the car-a handgun that had a bullet chambered and ready to shoot," said District Attorney Kevin Steele.
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Vasquez turned herself in today to detectives, he said.
she was arraigned before a magisterial district court judge who set bail at $50,000 unsecured, with a condition of bail being that the defendant is not allowed to possess a firearm. A preliminary hearing is set for 1 p.m. on April 27.