The family of a woman who was fatally shot by her two-year-old son in an Idaho Walmart Tuesday said she was a responsible gun owner and a "wonderful mother" who was "taken much too soon."
Veronica Rutledge, 29, was killed after her son was able to grab a concealed handgun in her purse during a shopping trip at the store in Hayden, a town about 40 miles east of Spokane, authorities said.
"A tragic, tragic accident," Kootenai sheriff's Lt. Stu Miller told reporters after the 10:20 a.m. shooting. Rutledge, a research scientist at the Idaho National Laboratory, was a responsible gun owner, family members told NBC News, and stored the gun in a purse specifically designed to hold a concealed handgun, which she had gotten for Christmas.
The child was in the shopping cart next to the purse when he was able to access the gun, Miller said. Rutledge's three young nieces were also present during the shooting.
Rutledge had a legal permit to carry a concealed weapon, Miller said, but "all the precautionary measures weren't taken to ensure the safety of that weapon."
First published December 30 2014, 12:53 PM
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