For indispensable reporting on the coronavirus crisis, the election, and more, subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily newsletter.





A day after Florida mom Jamie Gilt apparently boasted on Facebook about her four-year-old son’s affinity for target shooting, the boy gained access to a .45 caliber handgun and accidently shot her through the torso, according to the Florida Times-Union:

[The] post, shared on the Jamie Gilt page Sunday, shows an image of two burglars breaking into a home with a message below saying guns are not the answer, but calling 911 is. In disagreement, Gilt shared the photo and commented that the criminals might change their plans if they knew they were going to get killed. The post included other comments in a discussion that defended the right to carry guns. “Thanks. All of ours know how to shoot too. Even my 4-year-old gets jacked up to target shoot the .22,” Gilt responded Monday evening on Facebook after someone commented on the post.

Gilt was wounded and lived. The Facebook page cited in the article belongs to a woman whose biographical details match the shooting victim’s.

This is just the latest example of a child who gains access to an unsecured gun and winds up accidentally shooting a family member or himself. A Mother Jones investigation found that in the year following the Newtown massacre, at least 194 children were shot to death.