A mother was fatally shot by her young son, age 2, while they were shopping inside an Idaho Walmart. The toddler allegedly got into her purse, took hold of her concealed gun and pulled the trigger. A preliminary investigation of the killing, which occurred at about 11:20 a.m. in Hayden, Idaho, has been described by the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office as being completely accidental.
The victim has not been named at the present time, but her age has been listed as 29. Reports state she was shopping with four children inside the Walmart when surveillance videotape was able to catch the young child grabbing hold of the gun from the purse, reported The New York Daily News.
The young mother was not from the immediate area but had been reportedly visiting several different family members who lived in the region due to the holidays. She was legally allowed to carry the gun because she had a concealed weapons permit, stated Idaho State Police during a press conference.
The authorities explained that the young child unintentionally killed his mother when he fired the gun after he reached into her handbag. She had been shopping with several children on Tuesday morning.
A spokesperson from the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Department was the one to confirm that the victim was indeed the mother of the toddler. The Walmart store where the incident occurred is located approximately 40 miles to the northeast of Spokane, Washington.
The Idaho State Police stated that the shooting happened while the woman and the children were shopping near the back of the store. They were around the section that sells electronics when the deadly incident transpired.
Surveillance videotape along with eyewitnesses inside the store were able to help law enforcement piece together exactly what happened and to determine that the shooting was indeed a tragic accident.
From viewing the video footage, it appears that the young boy was left alone inside one of the shopping carts. While he was unattended, he stuck a hand into the victim’s purse and ended up grabbing her small caliber handgun. Apparently he put his fingers on the trigger and caused it to discharge once.
The husband of the deceased woman was not shopping in the Walmart at the time of the shooting. It was reported that he was called and showed up very quickly at the store after the event occurred. The four children were then taken to the home of a relative.
A spokesperson for the Walmart store itself also stated that the killing was tragic. She explained that the store was cooperating both fully and closely with the sheriff’s department and the Idaho State Police as they continued their investigation.
It was just this year that lawmakers in Idaho passed legislation that allowed concealed weapons to be carried on public college and university campuses in the state. This was in spite of opposition from every one of the eight state university college presidents. Lawmakers decided to side with gun rights supporters who declared the law would better support the Second Amendment.
After the shooting, the Walmart ended up shutting down for the day and was not expected to reopen until sometime on Wednesday. Hayden, Idaho is considered to be a politically traditional town with a population of around 9,050 people. It is located just to the north of Coeur d’Alene, which is in the panhandle of Idaho.
By Michelle Larson
Photo by Rob Stinnett - Flickr License