ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, FLORIDA: A young mother was killed in Florida
after her toddler shot her to death while she was on a work zoom call.
Horrified coworkers who watched the shooting happen were the ones to
call 911 after the mother fell from her seat at a loud bang and did not
get up. Identified as Shanaya Lynn, the mother was found dead from a
gunshot wound to the head.
News of this shocking incident follows a spate of toddlers endangered
and killed by their parents. Just a day ago, California surfing school
owner Matthew Taylor Coleman was arrested for stabbing his two children to death with a spearfishing gun in Mexico. Months ago, Lauren Ashley Baker
was charged with accidentally killing her two-year-old who ingested
fentanyl while the mom was passed out from the drug. Another Florida
parent, a man called John Stacey, killed his son before killing himself after repeatedly stalking and threatening the boy's mother.
Who was Shamaya Lynn?
The 21-year-old mom from Altamonte Springs, Florida was shot dead by
her toddler on Wednesday, August 11, as her coworkers watched. Lynn, who
lived in the city just north of Orlando, was on the conference call
when a sudden, loud bang could be heard. The woman fell backward and a
toddler was visible standing in the background. That's when one of the
people on the call informed 911, who found Lynn dead at her home.
According to local outlet WESH, Lynn was killed by a gun that
belonged to the boy's father. “Investigators determined that the injury
was caused by a toddler who found a loaded handgun, which was left
unsecured by an adult in the apartment,” Altamonte Springs Police
Department said in a statement the next day, August 12. “To anyone and
everyone tuning into this story if you own a firearm please keep it
locked and secured,” Officer Roberto Ruiz, Jr is shown saying in the TV
clip. “Incidents like this can be avoided.”
Unintentional killings by children not that uncommon
Lynn and the gun's owner shared two kids, one of them being the
toddler. Both the children have been put in the care of relatives. The
Seminole County State Attorney’s Office is currently working with local
detectives to figure out if the gun's owner will face charges.
Currently, under investigation, no charges have been filed in the case.
Shootings by children, unintentional or otherwise, are not that
uncommon. Lynn's death was an unfortunate accident, but there were at
least 369 unintentional shootings by children below 18 in 2020, with 142
of them involved deaths, according to the gun control advocacy group
Everytown for Gun Safety, which tracks reports. A similar killing like
Lynn's had happened back in February when a North Carolina mother of
five was shot and killed by one of her kids who found the gun in her
purse. In April again, a three-year-old Houston boy fatally shot his
8-month-old brother with an unsecured firearm as well.
1 comment:
I wonder if the dad will be prosecuted for leaving the gun laying around.
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