The father of a two-year-old who fatally shot his mother has been charged over the woman’s death.
Veondre Avery, 22, faces charges of manslaughter and failure to securely store a firearm in the killing of his girlfriend, Shamaya Lynn, 21, which took place on August 11, reports NBC News.
The toddler found the gun and shot the mother while she was on a Zoom call with co-workers, in the couple’s home in Florida.
One of the people on the call phoned 911 and reported hearing a noise before Lynn fell backwards.
Prosecutors said that when police arrived, they found Avery performing CPR on the 21-year-old woman.
Audio from the 911 call recorded a man, assumed to be Avery, pleading with the emergency services to hurry.
He told the dispatcher he had just got home and found his girlfriend on the floor bleeding and had no idea what happened.
In the audio he is also heard counting as he performs CPR on the woman.
Neither of the two children who were present in the house – including the one that fired the gun – were injured, police said.
A police investigation determined that the gun was in a “Paw Patrol” backpack in the couple’s bedroom.
Altamonte Springs Police Officer, Rob Ruiz, said that gun owners have a responsibility to secure their firearms.
He added: “I know it’s tragic, I know it may not have been something that that person wanted to do, but now you have consequences.”
