Law Enforcement
3-year-old boy fatally shoots mother by accident
The minor found his father’s gun and fired it, striking his mother in the neck
March 16, 2022 9:27am
Updated: March 16, 2022 2:49pm
A 3-year-old boy accidentally shot his mother after finding a gun in the vehicle while the family was waiting in a Chicago supermarket parking lot.
The woman identified as Daejah Bennett, 22, was shot Saturday at 8:30 p.m. and pronounced dead at the hospital, police said, quoted by the Los Angeles Times.
The family was inside their vehicle in the Food 4 Less store parking lot when the boy found the gun and shot the mother in the neck.
Dolton Police Officer Robert Collins Jr. confirmed on Monday that the father of the child, identified as Romell Watson, 23, was charged with misdemeanor charges for owning the gun.
Authorities said Watson had a legal permit to carry the weapon but illegally transported it in a vehicle. He was expected to be processed and released on Monday night, according to Telemundo 51.
"This was preventable," said community activist Andrew Holmes on Sunday, who visited the supermarket and gave away gun locks and talked to customers about the importance of gun safety.
In 2020, accidental shootings by children under 18 left 142 dead and 242 injured, according to Everytown for Gun Safety, a gun-control advocacy group.
In 2021, the death toll rose to 154, and the number of individuals injured was 244. According to the group, 16 people have been killed and 29 injured by these accidental shootings of minors so far this year.
