A 3-year-old boy accidentally shot and killed his mother with a gun he found in the backseat of the family’s car in Illinois, said police.
WLS reported, citing police, that the tragic accident happened after Dejah Bennet, 22, and her boyfriend arrived with her son at a supermarket in the Chicago suburb of Dolton on Saturday.
The report said the child was in the backseat of the car and began playing with the firearm when it discharged while in the parking lot. They were parked at the Food-4-Less in the 1000-block of East Sibley Blvd.
Bennet was struck in the neck by the bullet, soon after she was pronounced dead.
WLS said in an updated report Romell Watson, the boy’s father, was arrested and later charged with a misdemeanor gun charge.
Dolton community activist Andrew Holmes handed out 400 gun locks outside the supermarket following the fatal shooting, On Sunday.
“This could have been prevented,” Holmes told the news outlet.
Holmes said the father had admitted he owned the firearm. Watson, 23, will face misdemeanor gun charges, town officials announced Monday. Officials said he was legally entitled to own the gun but unlawfully transported the weapon in a vehicle. Monday night, the boy’s father is expected to be processed and released from custody.
“It’s very important. If you do have guns at home, put them up — lock them up. If you have little children, it doesn’t matter, they get into any and everything,” said Dolton resident Crystal Lyons.
“All it takes is a second: unlock it, thread it through the barrel, bring it back around, put it in and lock it back,” Holmes added. “If you leave it, secure it.”
