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Woman fatally shot while friend was cleaning gun, police say

Police say a woman was killed when her friend was cleaning a gun.

NORCROSS, Ga. — Police say a woman was fatally shot in a Norcross, Georgia, home on Saturday evening while her friend was cleaning a gun.

Officers went to the home around 6:30 p.m. and found the woman, who was in her mid-40s, shot in the chest, according to Gwinnett Police Department officials. She was taken to a local hospital with "significant injuries," and later died.

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The woman's friend, who is in her mid-20s, said the gun accidentally went off. Neither woman's name has been released, but the name of the shooter will be released once warrants are obtained, police said in a news release.

Both lived at the home with the alleged shooter’s mother, police said. During an initial investigation, detectives learned the daughter told her mother she was going downstairs to clean a firearm.

"According to the mother, she heard a loud noise sounding like a gunshot," a police spokesman said in a news release. "She went downstairs to investigate. Her daughter immediately told her that the gun accidentally went off and struck the friend."

The mother and daughter have been cooperating with the death investigation, which is considered a homicide, according to police. The daughter was taken into custody and will likely face charges.