A mom from Florida was arrested and booked into jail on several charges after her two-year-old son accessed a gun and shot his dad, who later died at the hospital, according to the Orange County Sheriff's Office.
Deputies responded to an emergency call on May 26, 2022 to a home on Tobie Court, and they found 26-year-old Reggie Maybry shot, according to Fox 35 Orlando. OCSO said in a news release that the victim was taken to the hospital where he later died. Investigators said Maybry was pronounced dead from the bullet.
County officials said that the shooting was initially being investigated as a possible suicide, but it was determined at the hospital that Maybry was shot in the back. A five-year-old child then told deputies that his younger brother was the one who shot their dad.
Weapon was not secured and the child was able to access the gun
Authorities said that a five-month-old child was also at the home at the time of the shooting, according to Spectrum Local News. Sheriff John Mina told reporters in a press conference that the weapon was not secured and that the two-year-old child was able to access the gun, which led to charges against the children's mother.
Marie Rose Ayala, was arrested and booked into jail on charges of manslaughter by culpable negligence, possession of ammunition by a convicted felon, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and violation of probation.
Sheriff Mina said that Maybry and Ayala were both convicted felons, on probation, and were not allowed to own a gun. Mina described the situation as "tragic," and that the incident should serve as a reminder for gun owners to secure their firearms.
Mina said that the children were not injured physically, but they will likely carry emotional wounds forever. He added that not only have the children effectively lost both parents, the toddler who accidentally shot his dad in the back will have to grow up with the knowledge that his actions caused the death of his father.
At least 125 toddlers and kids age 5 and under shot themselves or someone else in 2020
According to Dr. Judy Schaechter, roughly a third of homes in the United States with children have guns. She said that an estimated 4.6 million children live with unlocked, loaded guns. She said that is a scary statistic as even young toddlers are capable of finding unlocked guns in the home, and these kids are strong enough to pull the trigger.
Schaechter said in an article at Healthychildren.org that unintentional shootings happen to kids of all ages and the likelihood of accidental death by shooting is four times higher in homes with guns. There were at least 2,070 unintentional shootings by kids that resulted in 765 deaths and 1,366 nonfatal gun injuries between 2015 and 2020.
At least 125 toddlers and children age 5 and under shot themselves or someone else in 2020 alone. Unintended shooting deaths by kids from March to December 2020 went up more than 30 percent compared to the same time period in 2019.
