A Young Mother Is Shot By Her 1 Year Old Son

A young mother of two, Shayla Lynn, was on a zoom call when she was shot in the head and killed by her 1 year old son. In this article, I want to discuss what happened and why it happened. Furthermore, I want to talk about what can be done to prevent this from happening again in the future. In Florida, firearms are readily available for purchase and they do not have to be registered. The mother’s two toddlers found a handgun, picked it up, and began to play with the handgun. While playing with the gun, one of the toddlers managed to not only fire the gun, but strike the mother in the head while firing it, killing her. The handgun belonged to the father, who was not home at the time of the incident. There are many stories about toddlers finding handguns at home that are not secured, and they end up injuring/killing themselves, or someone else.

 

How Did The Children Get The Firearm?

The conspiracy side of my mind wonders how did the two children find the gun and manage to aim it at the mothers head accurately and pull the trigger. I’ve shot many handguns in the past and it is not easy to accurately hit a target, especially when the target is moving. Some firearms have a heavier trigger pull than others. A Glock, Sig Sauer, Smith And Wesson, and Ruger all have different trigger pull tension. So, for a one year old to shoot their mom in the back of the head with a gun seems very rare. However, it happened and the lesson to take away here is that this was totally preventable. The police are determining if the father should face charges, but considering the circumstances surrounding the incident the most charges that he could possibly face are child neglecence and child endangerment, for not locking up the firearm in a secure place where children cannot access it. This highlights a bigger problem that needs to be addressed concerning the securing of firearms in your home when you are not there.

 

There Are 400 Million Firearms In The United States

There are almost 400 million firearms in the United States according to a 2018 Small Arms Survey. This means that many people own more than one firearm. Based on my personal experiences and encounters, most people do most lock their guns in a safe, or have a trigger lock when they are not  around the firearm. I can understand not having the gun locked up when you are home because of ease of access, however, when you are away your firearm needs to be secured, even if no one else lives with you. There are many reports about homes and cars being broken into and handguns being stolen. The stolen guns are then used to commit crimes that end up tracing the gun back to the owner, who in many cases didn’t even know the gun was missing. If you don’t protect your children you expose them to grave danger.  Ensuring that doors are locked, staircases have fences, and outlets and cabinets have child safety locks are all things that are mandatory to keep your child from hurting themself. A toddler’s concept of the world is extremely limited. They don’t see danger in every corner like many adults see danger. The two young children most assuredly didn’t intend to kill their mom, nor did they have any idea that what they were holding had the capacity to do such damage. Maybe they saw movies or TV shows that displayed gun use, but even then at 1 years old that concept is faint. This is a sad situation that the father has to live with and eventually the 1 year will grow up to learn that he was responsible for the death of his mother. Let this be a lesson to all, anyone is capable of anything, therefore, you must protect yourself at all times. Even if something seems impossible, in the perfect situation, it is possible.