Pittsburgh mom accused of pointing gun at 4 children, threatening to shoot them

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — A Pittsburgh mom is facing charges after police said she pointed a gun at her four children and threatened to shoot them all.

According to the criminal complaint, 911 dispatchers got a call from someone who said an 11-year-old had sent a text saying 'please help mom has a gun and there's a fire' around 10 p.m. Wednesday night.

Police said when they arrived at the home on Madiera Street in the Homewood South neighborhood, 35-year-old Rhodesia Howard answered the door. The responding officer noticed smoke coming out of the home, and Howard said she was "cooking." 

Police said they saw four children, ages 13, 12, 8 and 6, on the steps. Since there was smoke throughout the home, police conducted a welfare check on the children and called the fire department to clear out the smoke.

While talking to the children, police said the 13-year-old said he had to lock himself in the bathroom because Howard was chasing him with a hammer. The 13-year-old said Howard then got a gun and pointed it at all her children, saying, "I got six bullets and six of us," according to court paperwork. 

The 12-year-old told police that Howard had purposely lit paper in the trash can on fire, and the smoke wasn't from cooking like she had told officers. 

After executing a search warrant on Thursday, police said they found a hammer and a gun which Pennsylvania State Police in Uniontown confirmed was stolen.

Howard is facing multiple charges, including four counts of endangering the welfare of children, four counts of simple assault, four counts of terroristic threats, arson and receiving stolen property.