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Toddler reaches into purse and gun goes off killing mom

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout' started by mr. 13 in 33, Dec 31, 2014.

  1. mr. 13 in 33

    mr. 13 in 33 Member

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    HAYDEN, Idaho — A mom died Tuesday after her toddler reached into her purse and accidentally discharged her handgun, authorities said.

    Veronica J. Rutledge, 29, of Blackfoot, Idaho, was shopping at a Walmart in this Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, suburb with four children in tow. One of the children, a boy about 2 years old, was left in a shopping cart, reached into his mother's purse at about 10:20 a.m. MT, and the weapon went off once, said Lt. Stu Miller, Kootenai County Sheriff's Office spokesman.

    "It appears to be a pretty tragic accident," Miller said. Rutledge was dead by the time deputies arrived.

    She had traveled to Hayden, about 400 miles northwest of Blackfoot, to visit relatives for the holidays, Miller said.Rutledge "was a beautiful, young, loving mother," said her father-in-law, Terry Rutledge. "She was not the least bit irresponsible. She was taken much too soon."

    She had taken her son and nieces to the store to spend some gift cards, he said.

    The woman's husband was not in the store when the shooting occurred but arrived shortly after, Miller said. All of the children were taken to a relative's house.

    The store closed after the shooting and won't reopen until Wednesday morning, according to Walmart management.

    "A very sad incident occurred at our store today involving the death of a female customer," according to a Walmart statement. "We are fully cooperating with the Kootenai County Sheriff's deputies as they investigate this matter."

    Video surveillance near the electronics area of the store and witness testimony helped deputies determine that this was an accident. Miller said Veronica Rutledge had a concealed-weapons permit issued in Spokane, Wash.

    Idaho recognizes concealed-weapons permits from other states, but people who decide to keep their guns hidden must carry the out-of-state license with them at all times, according to the Idaho Attorney General's Office website.

    Unless a private business prohibits weapons on its property, anyone with a concealed-weapons permit can carry a firearm, according to the state Attorney General's Office. Anyone can carry a gun in the state without a permit as long as it's visible.

    Idaho lawmakers passed legislation earlier this year allowing concealed weapons on the state's public college and university campuses. Under that law, gun holders are barred from bringing their weapons into dormitories or buildings that hold more than 1,000 people, such as stadiums or concert halls.

    About 7% of adults in Idaho — more than 85,500 people — had concealed-weapons permits at the end of 2012, according to data from the Crime Prevention Research Center, a Swarthmore, Pa.-based gun-advocacy group. That ranks Idaho in the top third among states.

    Hayden, with about 9,000 residents, is 6 miles north of Coeur d'Alene in Idaho's northern panhandle and about 35 miles northeast of Spokane, Wash


    http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/12/30/woman-shot-with-own-gun/21062089/
     
  2. Dairy Ashford

    Dairy Ashford Member

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    Safety? Would that have helped? This reminds me of when my old math teacher from Baytown got shot by his own rifles cause he left them in the trunk with his dogs after a hunting trip.
     
  3. heypartner

    heypartner Contributing Member

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    I think we need to put that toddler down.
     
  4. Manny Ramirez

    Manny Ramirez The Music Man

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    Probably belongs in the D&D....that's too bad that happened but I have to ask the question, why in the world would anybody bring a gun with them inside a store? Do they not trust the security inside the store? Are they that attached to their gun? I mean I really do not get it nor do I ever want to understand the fervor that people have with their guns.
     
  5. Drew_Le

    Drew_Le Member

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    Unreal that we don't have gun control. I can't imagine how awful the tragedy has to be for us to finally change our outdated law.
     
  6. Invisible Fan

    Invisible Fan Contributing Member

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    Overreaction. In order to prevent more toddlers from going rogue, we need to arm law abiding toddlers to keep them in check.
     
    2 people like this.
  7. bobloblaw

    bobloblaw Contributing Member

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    It's very unlikely that she had the safety on. What a terrible mother to keep a gun anywhere her children are capable of accessing. One of her 4 kids could have died. Moronic stuff is exponentially more likely to occur at a Walmart.
     
  8. arno_ed

    arno_ed Contributing Member

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    Darwin award. It is sad someone died. But i am happy it was not the child or a bystander.
     
  9. fallenphoenix

    fallenphoenix Contributing Member

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    guns don't kill people, toddlers do
     
  10. supafrumpy

    supafrumpy Contributing Member

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    I understand where you are coming from. This little boy will not have a mom to help raise him. I can't think of many sadder things than that.

    I do not want to get into the gun control debate here, but why that hell do you need a pistol while shopping at Walmart?
     
  11. TheRealist137

    TheRealist137 Member

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    If one of the witnesses had a gun as well that toddler would've been dropped before he could shoot and mom would still be alive
     
  12. arno_ed

    arno_ed Contributing Member

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    Agreed. And the kid will also know he is the one who killed her. Just terrible.
     
  13. Scarface281

    Scarface281 Contributing Member

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    Wow, that kid is going to be haunted once older.
     
  14. archinkent

    archinkent Member

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    Was it a headshot?
     
  15. CrashTheBoards

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    Damn man. Imagine if someone tells him the reason he doesn't have a mom is because he shot her.
     
  16. BigM

    BigM Contributing Member

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    I don't know that may be one piece of information he doesn't receive.
     
  17. Cohete Rojo

    Cohete Rojo Contributing Member

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    Coeur D'Alane is where you start running into the gun loving, gold hoarding militant types.
     
  18. roxxfan

    roxxfan Contributing Member

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    That is one piece of information he shouldn't receive. At least until he is an adult and emotionally matured. That is a tough pill to swallow for anyone of any age though.
     
  19. Bäumer

    Bäumer Contributing Member

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    This could have been possible 20 years ago but not today. When he is old enough he will Google his mother and find the news articles and do the math. Its a tough thing for the kid to live with but you can't keep that a secret forever. Imagine if he was 12 and found out from an old internet news article. What a sad tragedy, poor kid and family. At least he won't remember doing it.
     
  20. Junkyard_Dog

    Junkyard_Dog Member

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    He'll be in therapy forever once he finds out. In this day and age once the child is older he'll find out eventually
     

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