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Killed on Zoom: Father held after toddler finds gun, shoots mother in US

Veondre Avery was charged with negligent manslaughter and unsafe storage of a firearm



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Veondre Avery, 22, was arrested on Tuesday and charged with negligent manslaughter and unsafe storage of a firearm, Altamonte Springs police said.

Altamonte Springs: Police in central Florida have arrested the father of a toddler who found a loaded handgun in his ``Paw Patrol" backpack and fatally shot his mother while she was on a Zoom call for work.

Investigators said the 2-year-old found the gun in the backpack on August 11 and fired a single shot that hit his mother, Shamaya Lynn, in the head.

A woman who also was on the Zoom call dialed 911, reporting that she heard a noise and saw Lynn fall. The co-worker didn't know how old Lynn was or where she lived, but meanwhile Avery also called 911, begging responders to hurry as he tried to help Lynn.

"I literally just got home and I come in the room... (and) my girlfriend who was working on the computer, she's just laid back and there's blood everywhere,'' Avery said on the 911 call.

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Authorities said another child also was in the home during the shooting.

He told the dispatcher that Lynn wasn't breathing, and he could not feel her heartbeat. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

The Seminole County State Attorney's Office said Avery is being held without bond. Records did not list an attorney who could speak on his behalf.

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