The boy’s father is now facing misdemeanour gun charges
A three-year-old boy accidentally shot and killed his mother after playing with a firearm found in the backseat of the family car.
A trip to a Food-4-Less supermarket in Dolton, Illinois, proved fatal for Dejah Bennet after her three-year-old son found the firearm in the backseat.
The 22-year-old mother was fatally shot – with the bullet having struck her neck – and was later pronounced dead at the University of Chicago Medical Center, reports The New York Post.
While it was not immediately clear whether the child pulled the trigger or dropped the gun causing it to discharge, Dolton Police Chief Robert Collins Jr. told the Mail Online: “He somehow got ahold of the gun and began playing with it in a playful manner, pointed the gun and fired the shot.”
In an updated report, ABC7 revealed that the boy’s father, 23-year-old Romell Watson, had admitted that the gun was his and is now facing misdemeanour gun charges. While Watson had a right to the gun, officials say the firearm was transported in an unlawful manner. Watson was released on Monday evening.
“He was legally entitled to own the gun, however, he transported the weapon in a vehicle in a manner not prescribed by law,” Collins explained.
“This child has to go through this trauma for the rest of his life,” community activist Andrew Holmes told the Chicago Tribune. “He’s going to miss his mother.” In response to the tragedy, Holmes returned to the supermarket the following day where he handed out 400 gun locks.
“This could have been prevented,” he added.
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