Tragedy: Two-year-old Child Shots Father Dead, Mother Arrested

A tragic incident happened in Florida on Monday, June 6, as a two-year-old child mistakenly shot and killed his father after his parents left a loaded gun unattended.

By the time the police arrived at the victim’s home in Orlando after receiving a 911 call, they saw the child’s mother; Marie Ayala, performing CPR on her husband; Reggie Mabry.

Orange County Sheriff; John Mina who spoke at a news conference, said the 26-year-old, who died shortly after in hospital, was first thought to have shot himself – but the eldest of the couple’s three children later told police that his two-year-old brother had pulled the trigger.

According to court filings, the gun was in a bag that Mabry had left on the ground, and the child discovered it and shot his father in the back while he was playing a video game on a computer.

At the time of the occurrence, the five family members, including a five-month-old girl, were all in the same room.

The sheriff said both parents were on parole at the time for multiple counts of child negligence and drug usage.

“Gun owners who fail to secure their firearms correctly are just a split second away from one of these tragedies occurring in their homes,” Mina added.

“These kids have virtually lost both of their parents at this point. Their father is no longer alive. Their mother is in prison, and a young child must go through life knowing that he shot his father,” added the sheriff.

In the United States, such disasters are not commonplace.

Another two-year-old child discovered a revolver left in a Paw Patrol bag in August 2021 and tragically shot his mother in the head while she was participating in a video conference.

The new disaster occurs as the country grapples with gun rules in the aftermath of multiple deadly mass shootings, including at a grocery, a hospital, and a primary school.