A 22-year old man from Florida, US has been placed in custody two months after the murder of his 21-year old girlfriend by their child.
Veondre Avery, is facing charges of having connection in the murder of Shamaya Lynn at the couple’s home in Altamonte Springs, Fla.
Shamaya was killed by the couple’s 2-year old child while she was attending a zoom meeting with her co-workers.
The incident happened when the child found Avery’s unsecured, loaded handgun inside a ‘Paw Patrol’ backpack and accidentally shot his mother.
Avery was charged with manslaughter and failure to securely store a firearm. Manslaughter, a second-degree felony in Florida, is punishable by up to 15 years in prison, 15 years of probation and a $10,000 fine, according to state law.
“Your decisions have consequences, and this was just a decision that was a very poor one,” Altamonte Springs officer Roberto Ruiz Jr. said in a news conference. “
“You have a responsibility as a gun owner to take care of those firearms,” he added.
According to Shamaya’s co-worker who was also in the August 11 zoom meeting, the toddler could be seen at the background of as her mother attended the meeting.
Moments later, there was aloud noise and Shamaya was seen leaning backward.
“I don’t know where to begin. One of the girls passed out. … She has the camera on. Her baby is crying in the back. We heard a loud kabloom and then she leaned back and we just saw blood from her face,” said the female colleague through a 911 call.
Shamaya worked at a Call Centre associated with the shoe company New Balance, a spokesperson with the company told The Washington Post. The job allowed her to work from home and be with her two sons, according to her obituary.
When Avery returned home, he found his girlfriend wounded and pleaded with the pleaded with a 911 dispatcher to hurry up.
“I literally just got home and I come in the room … my girlfriend who was working on the computer, she’s just laid back and there’s blood everywhere,” Avery said.
Police and paramedics responded at around 11 a.m. and found the 21-year-old with a fatal gunshot wound to her head. First-responders attempted to administer aid, but it was too late, police said. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Authorities soon pieced together what happened — and how the 2-year-old child got ahold of the firearm. Investigators initially determined that the gun belonged to Avery and was left unsecured in the apartment, but they did not say where it was located.
The two children were not hurt during the shooting incident.
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