Dayton mom accused of shooting kids charged with attempted murder

Update@4:51 p.m.

Claudena Helton has been formally charged with two counts of attempted aggravated murder and four counts of felonious assault for allegedly shooting her two children, according to the Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office.

The children, Khmorra, 8, and Kaiden, 6, remained in critical condition at Dayton Children’s Hospital Friday evening.

First report:

The woman jailed on suspicion of shooting two of her children Thursday in Dayton has faced previous allegations involving children.

Claudena Helton was in the Montgomery County Jail Thursday night, pending filing of formal charges.

Claudena Helton was convicted of disorderly conduct in Montgomery County Juvenile Court in March 2014, according to the county prosecutor’s office.

Dayton Police Chief Richard Biehl said two children, an 8-year-old girl and 6-year-old boy, were wounded with life-threatening injuries when their reportedly mother shot them in the head on Lori Sue Avenue.

PHOTOS: Police respond to scene, neighbors react

Dayton Children's Hospital officials said Khmorra and Kaiden Helton were in critical condition Thursday evening.

Biehl said the mother faced child endangering charges previously but did not elaborate.

RELATED: Police: Dayton mother shoots 2 children

This news organization found records of a February 2014, incident in which Dayton police investigated injuries Khmorra allegedly suffered while at the home on Lori Sue Avenue where Thursday's shooting occurred.

In 2014, police were called to the Miami Valley Child Development Center in the 2900 block of Shiloh Springs Road to meet with children services staff.

Dayton PD: Mother shot two children in head A six-year-old male and an eight-year-old female are in critical condition.

A teacher at the center noticed that Khmorra, then 5, had bruises on her arms and was telling other children the bruises hurt, according to a police narrative from Officer Charles Hurley.

On closer examination, officials discovered that Khmorra also had swelling and marks on her cheek and a cut on her lip. She had a bruise on her chest and discoloration on her left thigh.

Khmorra told her teacher and investigators that her mother hit her with the buckle end of a belt, the report states.

The girl said her mother hit her repeatedly with the belt while on the bed because she was crying, the report states.

Khmorra's injuries were photographed as evidence.

Authorities' first attempts to reach the mother by phone were unsuccessful. They eventually reached her and instructed her to come into the school.

But the mother, whose name is not listed in the police report — rushed past the school's front desk and went to her 3-year-old son's classroom, where police found her putting on his coat and getting him ready to leave, the report states.

The mother said "she was going to jail and needed to take her kids somewhere first," says officer Hurley's narrative. Hurley told her a decision on charges hadn't been made and he was not planning to arrest her.

The mother said a boy at school touched her daughter's buttocks the previous day and she saw her daughter do it to her brother, which she forbid, police said.

The mom said she spanked her daughter when she did it again.

Hurley told the woman that it looked like she had lost her temper while disciplining her child and went too far. Officials allowed Khmorra's aunt to take the children for multiple days as part of a safety plan.

Hurley told her there would be an investigation and criminal charges potentially could be filed.

"Although I felt the discipline was very excessive, I didn't think it rose to the level of serious physical harm," Hurley wrote. "I made clear to her that that could change once the doctors examined her daughter."

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