Mom Shot By Son in Walmart

[Lily Adler]

http://www.cnn.com/2014/12/30/us/idaho-walmart-shooting-accident-mother-toddler/index.html

A 29-year-old mother was fatally shot Tuesday in an Idaho Walmart when her 2-year-old son in the shopping cart grabbed a gun that was in her purse and shot her in an apparent accident, authorities said.
Detectives were investigating the scene and Walmart officials immediately shuttered the store in Hayden, said the Kootenai County Sheriff's Office.
The mother was identified by the sheriff's office as Veronica J. Rutledge of Blackfoot.

At the time, the mother and son were shopping with other family members, authorities said.
"The shooting appears to be accidental," said a statement by Sheriff Ben Wolfinger and Lt. Stu Miller.
At a press conference, Miller said the mother was shopping at the back of the store in the electronics department.
"It appears that the victim brought several of her children here to do some shopping after the holidays," Miller told reporters in the parking lot. "The child looks like to be sitting in the shopping cart with the purse while the female victim was shopping."
"Here it is around the holidays, just after Christmas and right before the New Year -- tragic, tragic accident," Miller said. "It's not a pleasant experience right now."
The shooting occurred about 10:20 a.m.
"A very sad incident happened in our store in Hayden, Idaho, that involved a female customer," said Walmart spokesperson Brooke Buchanan. "We are working closely with the local sheriff's department as they investigate what happened."
The Walmart will reopen Wednesday morning, officials said.

 

[KRYPTON INC.]

Terrible story. What do you tell the child? Is he even old enough to remember this all by the time he's over a certain age? Just tragic all around. I now wait for this all to be forgotten as both sides turn this thread into a political free fire zone on guns.

 

[PacificBoy]

Horrible. A similar tragedy happened in Oklahoma in Nov I think.

 

[The Endless]

How did a 2 year old manage to get into her purse and fire a gun? Why was it even loaded?

It's a terrible tragedy but it shouldn't have even been possible in the first place.

 

[Lily Adler]

Why wasn't the safety on? And why was it loaded?

 

[terry78]

You just walk around with the gun in your purse, huh? The only viable reason I could see this is if she had something happen to her and was using it for protection out of being spooked.

 

[Lily Adler]

I'm with KRYPTON on what will happen to the kid. Will he even be told about it when he's older?

 

[Morg]

Why wasn't the safety on? And why was it loaded?

the mother even though she's a scientist wasn't smart, the gun wasn't in a holster and already loaded and no safety was put on

 

[mrvlknight21]

Guys, don't mistake what I am saying here, as she clearly didnt take proper precautions transporting the firearm.
But #1 if she had chosen to carry a firearm (again, she did not properly secure it, that's a big problem) but why would she carry it unloaded?
#2 depending on the type of firearm, it may not have had a safety.

Edit: another article says it was a 9mm Smith and Wesson semiautomatic handgun. Without more information, its impossible to know if it had an external manual safety (some do, some don't).

 

[mrvlknight21]

the mother even though she's a scientist wasn't smart, the gun wasn't in a holster and already loaded and no safety was put on

Another article said that her purse was specifically designed for concealed carry of a firearm.

 

[Hollow Wood Director]

You know those pill bottle tops that are child proof? The designers of this purse "specifically designed to carry a gun" might want to rethink their design and keep those pill bottle tops in mind while they redesign.

 

[Thundercrack85]

I'm with KRYPTON on what will happen to the kid. Will he even be told about it when he's older?

He'll find it if he enters his mother's name into a search engine.