A heartbreaking accident took place in Fresno, California, where a 2-and-a-half-year-old boy is believed to have accidentally shot and killed his own mother. The tragedy happened one Friday evening while the family was at home getting ready for a night out.
Inside the apartment were the young boy, his 18-month-old sibling, their 22-year-old mother, named Jessinya Mina, and her boyfriend, Andrew Sanchez.
According to local police, the little boy somehow managed to get hold of a loaded 9mm gun that belonged to Sanchez. The gun, which did not have an external safety feature, had been left in a spot where the children could easily reach it.
At some point, the toddler pulled the trigger, and the bullet struck Mina in her upper body as she lay in bed. Although she was rushed to a nearby hospital, she sadly did not survive.
Authorities quickly took Sanchez into custody, charging him with felony child endangerment and felony criminal storage of a weapon. He was later released on bail. Police say Sanchez did not have a criminal record or any known gang connections. It remains unclear why he owned the gun in the first place.
Mina’s parents are now caring for both children, who must grow up without their mother’s loving presence. Mina’s older sister shared her heartbreak with a local media outlet, saying her niece and nephew will have to rely on memories and stories instead of experiencing their mother’s warmth firsthand.
This tragic event serves as a painful reminder of how important it is to properly store firearms, especially when children are around. California’s strong gun laws include rules about safe storage, but as this situation shows, accidents can still happen when these rules are not followed.
Sadly, this isn’t the first time such a tragedy has unfolded. In another recent incident in California, a 7-year-old boy fatally shot his 2-year-old brother after finding a gun in a truck’s glovebox.
Across the country, accidents like this are occurring too often, with over 100 deaths and around 200 injuries linked to children handling guns this year alone, according to a nonprofit group that tracks these incidents.
