Florida: After parents leave loaded gun unattended, 2-year-old son accidentally shoots and kills dad

As the Texas shooting sparked a debate over tougher gun laws, a two-year-old accidentally shot and killed his father in Florida. According to local authorities, the toddler’s parents had left a loaded gun unattended.

The child’s mother, Marie Ayala, was providing CPR to her husband, Reggie Mabry, when officers arrived at the victim’s home near Orlando after being alerted by a 911 call.

Orange County Sheriff John Mina told a news conference that law enforcement initially believed Reggie had committed suicide.

But later in the investigation, the eldest of the couple’s three children later told investigators the trigger was pulled by his two-year-old brother.

According to court documents, Reggie was playing a video game on a computer while his gun was in a bag Mabry had left on the floor and the child accidentally shot his father in the back after finding him.

The traumatic incident was witnessed by all five family members who were in the same room at the time, including a five-month-old baby girl.

Mina said both parents were on parole at the time following multiple offenses of child neglect and drug use.

“Gun owners who don’t properly secure their guns are just a fraction of a second away from one of these tragedies happening in their homes,” Mina said.

“Now these young children have effectively lost both parents. Their father is dead. Their mother is in jail, and a young child has to live his life knowing he shot his father,” the sheriff added.

A similar incident occurred last year in August when another two-year-old found her mother’s gun in her Paw Patrol backpack while she was on a video conference and had accidentally shot his mother in the head.

(With agency contributions)

sion5.com