Boy, 2, accidentally shoots, kills mom in Walmart store

Associated Press

HAYDEN, Idaho

A 2-year-old boy accidentally shot and killed his mother after he reached into her purse at a northern Idaho Walmart and her concealed gun fired, authorities said Tuesday.

Veronica J. Rutledge, 29, was shopping with her son and three other children, Kootenai County sheriff’s spokesman Stu Miller said. Rutledge was from Blackfoot in southeastern Idaho, and her family had come to the area to visit relatives.

She had a concealed-weapons permit. Miller said the young boy was left in a shopping cart, reached into his mother’s purse and grabbed a small-caliber handgun, which discharged one time.

Deputies who responded to the Walmart found Rutledge dead, the sheriff’s office said.

“It appears to be a pretty tragic accident,” Miller said.

The woman’s husband was not in the store when the shooting happened about 10:20 a.m. Miller said the man arrived shortly after the shooting. All the children were taken to a relative’s house.