2-Year-Old Boy Shoots, Kills Mom In Idaho Wal-Mart

A 2-year-old boy accidentally killed his mother with her own gun at a Walmart in Hayden, Idaho, a town about 40 miles east of Spokane, Washington.

Veronica Rutledge, 29, was in the electronics section of the store with her 2-year-old son and other three children on Tuesday morning.

The little boy reached into Veronica J. Rutledge’s purse and her concealed gun fired, Kootenai County sheriff’s spokesman Stu Miller said. The woman was shopping Tuesday with her son and three other children, Mail Online reported.

Rutledge was from Blackfoot in southeastern Idaho, and her family had come to the area to visit relatives.

She was an employee of the Idaho National Laboratory, The Spokesman-Review of Spokane, Washington, reported. The Idaho Falls laboratory supports the U.S. Department of Energy in nuclear and energy research and national defense.

The gun discharged and killed the mother, who had a concealed weapons permit.

Rutledge died at the scene. The store was temporarily closed while police collected evidence.