A 2-year-old boy in the US fatally shot his 22-year-old mother inside their apartment in Northern California, police said on Monday. According to CBS News, Jessinya Mina died on Friday from a single gunshot wound to her upper body after her toddler son picked up an unsecured gun inside a bedroom of the home and pulled the trigger. The loaded gun belonged to Andrew Sanchez, Ms Mina's boyfriend. Mr Sanchez is now facing criminal charges in her death, officials said.
"At some point in time while handling that particular weapon, the toddler was able to manipulate the trigger, and it actually struck Mina as she was lying in bed," Lt. Paul Cervantes said during a news conference, per the outlet.
The mother of two was taken to a local hospital for treatment, but she couldn't make it. "It's devastating and definitely serves as a stark reminder of the significance and importance of being able to properly store your weapon," Mr Cervantes said.
According to the police, Ms Mina's children and her boyfriend were planning to spend the evening out and were relaxing at home when the shooting happened. The little boy's 8-month-old sibling was also at home during the incident.
Officials said that Mr Sanchez left the loaded 9mm gun, which did not have an external safety feature, in the bedroom, in an area accessible by the children. He was taken into custody after Friday's incident and was charged with felony child endangerment and felony criminal storage of a weapon.
Mr Sanchez has no criminal history, Mr Cervantes said, adding that detectives were working to learn to whom the gun is registered. For now, he has been released on bail.
"This is a very tragic and a very much preventable and avoidable incident," Mr Cervantes said.
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In an online fundraiser created by Ms Mina's sister, Jessica Rodriguez, called her a woman "full of love and life and an amazing beautiful mother". Separately, in a statement to the outlet, she said, "My niece and nephew will have to live off of memories and stories of my sister rather than her presence. We will never be able to witness my sister carry out her lifelong goals and accomplishments due to his negligence".
Meanwhile, this incident comes after a 7-year-old boy accidentally shot and killed his 2-year-old brother inside a truck parked in a shopping centre in California. It also days after a 3-year-old accidentally shot and injured a 1-year-old sibling with a firearm stored in their home.
