On Wednesday, a young child in Florida shot and killed a woman during a Zoom conference call.
When a 21-year-old woman named Shamaya Lynn was on a Zoom conference call with a colleague, a toddler suddenly appeared in the background of Lynn’s video source. Lynn’s colleague then heard a noise and saw that Lynn fell down and never came back.
Subsequently, Linn’s colleague contacted the police. The police officers and paramedics eventually discovered that the woman had a fatal gunshot wound to the head. Orlando Sentinel Report.
Altamonte Springs said: “The investigators determined that the injury was caused by a toddler who found a loaded pistol in the apartment, and the pistol was placed by an adult. In the apartment, it is not fixed.” Policemen Police officer Rob Ruiz said in a statement.
It is not clear whether charges will be filed against people who left guns out of children’s reach. The police have not yet revealed the relationship between Lynn and the child.
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There is neither a national gun violence database nor statistics on the frequency of homicides by children with guns.
However, according to a July 2019 report from Harvard Medical School, it is estimated that one-third of American households own a gun. This number is equivalent to nearly 22 million children living in homes with guns. The report added that an estimated three-quarters of children live in houses with guns, even if their parents think they don’t know where the guns are stored.
Although some guns have safety locks to prevent accidental shooting, not everyone does it. The above report stated that children as young as 3 years old have enough strength to pull the trigger of a pistol.
Some parents may think that their children know the difference between a real gun and a toy gun. However, according to the National Children’s Hospital, 16% of accidental gun deaths among children under 13 years old mistake guns for toys.
Parents may also think that their child knows better than touching a gun. However, according to Nicole Michaels, research has found that most children will use any gun they find, even if they are taught not to do so. Michaels is a senior research scientist at the Center for Injury Research and Policy at the Abigail Wexner Institute.
Experts recommend storing guns safely in homes where children cannot easily reach them. Experts also recommend that people unload the guns and store ammunition separately from the guns.
Weekly newspaper Contacted the Altamonte Springs Police Department for comments.
