HAYDEN, Idaho (AP) — A relative of the woman who was accidentally shot and killed by her 2-year-old son at an Idaho Wal-Mart says she was a “loving mother.”
The Kootenai County sheriff’s department has identified the victim as 29-year-old Veronica J. Rutledge, of Blackfoot, Idaho.
Authorities say she was shopping Tuesday morning with her son when the boy reached into her purse and grabbed a small-caliber handgun, which discharged.
The victim’s father-in-law, Terry Rutledge, says the woman was “taken much too soon.”
The shooting occurred in the Wal-Mart in Hayden, Idaho, a town about 40 miles northeast of Spokane, Washington.
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