PHOENIX — Editor's note: The above video aired during a previous broadcast.
The mom of two children who were shot in Phoenix on Monday, leaving one of them dead, has now been arrested on charges of murder.
Esther Callejas, 24, was booked into jail and faces one count each of first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder, the Phoenix Police Department said.
Police were first alerted to the incident by the father of the children, Emmanuel Isidro, court paperwork shows. Callejas reportedly called Isidro and told him she had killed the kids.
Soon after, officers rushed to a home near South 8th Place by East Broadway Road and found 2-year-old Esperanza Isidro and her 6-year-old brother had been shot.
Both children were transported to a hospital where Esperanza was pronounced dead while her brother remains in critical condition.
Callejas allegedly admitted to police that she shot her kids and told investigators she “wanted them to go to heaven.”
She told police that she purchased a pistol a few years ago and hid it from Isidro, the department said. A few days before the shooting, she retrieved the gun from a trailer on their property and hid the gun in the childrens' room in a dresser drawer.
Callejas was also shot in the hand during the incident but will recover, the department said. Police said she planned to take her own life but couldn’t reload the gun because of her injury.
Callejas was previously only detained by police but has since been arrested.
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