Man arrested after toddler found gun and shot mother dead during work Zoom call
13 October 2021, 23:18
Police in Florida have arrested the father of a toddler who found a loaded handgun in his Paw Patrol rucksack and shot his mother dead while she was on a work Zoom call.
Veondre Avery, 22, was arrested on Tuesday and charged with negligent manslaughter and unsafe storage of a firearm, Altamonte Springs police said.
Investigators said the two-year-old found the gun in the backpack on August 11 and fired a single shot that hit his mother, Shamaya Lynn, in the head.
A woman who was on the Zoom call dialled 911, reporting that she heard a noise and saw Ms Lynn fall.
The co-worker did not know how old Ms Lynn was or where she lived but meanwhile Avery also called 911, begging responders to hurry as he tried to help his girlfriend.
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"I literally just got home and I come in the room... (and) my girlfriend who was working on the computer, she's just laid back and there's blood everywhere," Avery said on the 911 call.
He told the dispatcher that Ms Lynn was not breathing and he could not feel her heartbeat.
She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Authorities said another child was also in the home during the shooting.
