US Mother Charged With Manslaughter After Her 2-Year-Old Son Fatally Shoots His Father

Authorities charged a Florida woman with manslaughter on Monday after her 2-year-old son discovered a gun in their home and accidentally shot his father in the back, killing him.

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According to an arrest complaint from the Orange County Sheriff's Office, the father, Reggie Mabry, 26, was playing a video game in his house in Orlando, Fla., last month when one of his three children managed to get a Glock 19 and fire.

According to Orange County Sheriff John Mina at a news conference on Monday, Mr. Mabry and his wife, Marie Ayala, 28, were convicted felons and were not permitted by law to acquire firearms. He stated that they were on probation for child neglect and narcotics offenses.

The authorities said that Ms. Ayala was charged with manslaughter, culpable negligence, and possession of a firearm by a felon. She could face up to 15 years in prison if convicted of manslaughter.

"The gun was not properly stored," Sheriff Mina said. "In fact, it was easily accessible even to a 2-year-old, and the result is a tragedy."

According to officials, it was unclear how the toddler obtained the gun.

The allegations come at a time when gun control measures are being suggested at the federal and state levels in the aftermath of mass shootings, and gun safety is on the minds of Americans tired of violence. According to gun-control advocates, the unintentional killing of Mr. Mabry also highlights the unintended bloodshed that may arise from easy access to guns in America.

According to data from the gun-control organisation Everytown for Gun Safety, 163 persons in the United States were mistakenly shot and killed by children last year. According to the organisation, 46 similar deaths have occurred this year.

"This is a uniquely American crisis where children are able to easily access unsecured loaded firearms and hurt themselves or others," Shannon Watts, the founder of Moms Demand Action, said by phone on Monday.

She added that these types of shootings are rooted in "negligence by gun owners."

On May 26, when the authorities in Orlando responded to a report of a shooting at home on a cul-de-sac, investigators initially believed they were dealing with a death by suicide, the arrest report states.

Sheriff Mina stated that Ms. Ayala later informed them that it was their kid who had fired the pistol. According to the report, the family heard a "loud pop," forcing Ms. Ayala to come out of bed and find her husband bleeding on the floor. According to the report, she disarmed the rifle and began chest compressions on Mr. Mabry.

Then, as her husband was being brought to the hospital, she questioned her 5-year-old child how the 2-year-old had "get" the gun, but the child was unable to explain how he had gotten the rifle and said that his younger sibling had just "shot papi," according to the arrest report.

When investigators asked Ms. Ayala where they kept their gun, “her answers changed frequently,” the arrest report states: First she said in a purple bag that was kept on the floor, then that it was in a compartment, and then that it was in a box in a closet or in a safe that was broken at the time.

“She could not explain how the gun fell out of the bag, with a high capacity magazine inserted in it, all while being clipped and zipped,” the report states.

Ms. Ayala later acknowledged to the authorities that “any child in the room could have figured out how to get the gun out of the bag,” the report states.

“Gun owners that do not properly secure their firearms are just one split second away from one of these tragedies happening in their homes,” Sheriff Mina said.

During the pandemic, unintentional shooting deaths by children increased because “more kids were at home with unsecured guns,” Ms. Watts said. Everytown for Gun Safety estimates that in 2022, 4.6 million children live in a home with at least one gun that is not securely stored.

Sheriff Mina said the tragedy in Orlando was “100 percent preventable,” and had resulted in three children effectively losing both parents.

“Their father is dead. Their mother is in jail,” he said. “And a young child has to live their life knowing that he shot his father.”