On Saturday, March 12, a 3-year-old boy fatally shot his mother with a gun that he found in the backseat of the family’s car in a parking lot in Illinois.
WLS reported that Dejah Bennet and Romell Watson were at Food 4 Less supermarket in the Chicago suburb of Dolton. As they were still in the parking lot, the child was in the backseat when he discovered the weapon and started playing with it. The firearm was discharged, hitting his mother in her neck, and the 22-year-old female died shortly after.
The child’s father, who admitted that the firearm belonged to him, was later taken into custody.
Dolton community activist Andrew Holmes spoke out about the incident and the importance of gun safety on Sunday.
“This could have been prevented,” he said. Holmes also distributed 400 gun locks outside of the supermarket as he spoke to people about the importance of securing these weapons from children.
On the following Monday, authorities announced that the 23-year-old father was facing misdemeanour gun charges.
The town officials stated that while he was legally permitted to own the firearm, how he transported the gun was seen as unlawful.
Watch news report of the incident below
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