Florida mother guns down daughter in 'accidental shooting'

A mother in Florida shot and killed her daughter after waking in the night and tragically mistaking her for an intruder, say police.

Detectives are investigating the shooting, which left the 27-year-old woman dead, but say so far evidence matches up with the mother's version of events, Washington Post reports.

The mother said she awoke to the sound of footsteps in her home and fired a single shot at a figure in the house, only to discover she had inflicted a fatal wound on her own daughter.

An emergency team rushed the daughter to the hospital where she died.

St Cloud police are not releasing the name of the mother or the daughter, as another member of the household serves in law enforcement.

Under Florida law, names and identities can be supressed under such circumstances.

The Florida shooting is just another grim gun crime statistic over a bloody festive holiday period.

Twenty-seven people were killed in homicides involving a firearm on Christmas Day.