CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - JUNE 23: Police tape surrounds a crime scene where three people were shot at the Wentworth Gardens housing complex in the Bridgeport neighborhood on June 23, 2021 in Chicago, Illinois. A 24-year-old man died from injuries he suffered in the shooting and two others, a 22-year-old male and a 25-year-old male, were seriously wounded. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
TSR Prayers Up: A Central Florida mother tragically had her life taken when she was fatally shot by her toddler while she was on a Zoom conference call for work, according to police.
CNN reports 21-year-old Shamaya Lynn was on a work-related call Wednesday when she was shot by her toddler, Altamonte Springs Police said in a statement Thursday night, published to the department’s Facebook page.
A person on Shamaya’s work call dialed 911 when they saw Shamaya fall backwards after a child appeared in the background. Other participants in the meeting heard a noise, according to the police statement.
Officers and paramedics responded to the scene and in a statement, they said they “did their best in rendering aid,” but Shamaya’s fatal gunshot wound was to the head. The shooting took place around 11 a.m.
An adult had left a loaded handgun in the apartment unsecured, and the toddler found it, according to police.
According to other reports, the gun belonged to the child’s father, though no arrests have been made in the shooting and the father was not in custody.
Detectives are currently working with the Seminole County State Attorney’s Office to determine if any charges are appropriate for the owner of the gun.
“If you own a firearm, please keep it locked and secured,” Police Officer Roberto Ruiz Jr. said. “Incidents like this could be avoided.”
The prosecutor’s office cannot comment on an ongoing investigation or possible charges, spokesman Todd Brown told CNN.
There were at least 369 unintentional shootings by children younger than 18 last year, with 142 deaths, according to the gun control advocacy group Everytown for Gun Safety, which tracks reports, according to NBC News.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to Shamaya Lynn and her family.
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