Unstable Mom Shot Her Kids, 2 and 6, Because She Wanted To Send Them 'To Heaven'

An unstable mother in Arizona has been arrested on Monday, Sept. 27, after shooting her two young children, claiming she wanted to send her toddlers "to heaven," in what police are investigating as a murder and murder attempt.

Esther Callejas, a 24-year-old mother from Phoenix, Arizona, has been arrested by police officers after she called her husband and family members and told them that she had just shot her two children, according to AZ Central.

The family alerted the police immediately and the authorities arrived at her residence to attempt life-saving procedures on the two seriously injured children. The kids, aged two and six, were subsequently rushed to a hospital, where the two-year-old died while the six-year-old remains in critical condition, according to NBC News.

Callejas shot her 6-year-old son in the head, arm, and torso, while she shot her 2-year-old daughter in the chest. The mother reportedly had intended to commit suicide after the killings, but she was unable to shoot herself as planned because she was unable to reload the gun after it finished its six rounds of bullets, according to the Sacramento Bee.

Her husband Emmanuel Isidro said that Callejas has a history of depression, and had recently been taking anti-depression medication. Callejas has said that she attempted to overdose on her prescription medication when she ran out of bullets to kill herself along with her children.

In the interrogation after Callejas was arrested, she said that she told her children that she would send them to heaven before shooting them both with a pistol she bought a few years ago that she was able to hide from her family.

Callejas was found to not be under the influence of drugs, alcohol, or any other narcotic during the incident.

Callejas is in custody at the Maricopa County Jail and has been charged with first-degree murder as well as attempted first-degree murder.