Toddler accidentally shoots, kills 22-year-old mother; boyfriend arrested in case
In what police called avoidable tragedy, a toddler fatally shot his 22-year-old mother inside the family's Northern California apartment, and the woman's boyfriend is facing criminal charges in her death.
The Fresno Police Department reported Jessinya Mina, 22, died from a single gunshot wound to her upper body after her 2-year-old son picked up an unsecured gun inside a bedroom of the home Friday and pulled the trigger. His mother was struck by the round.
At a news conference Tuesday, police Lt. Paul Cervantes said the shooting took place about about 5:30 p.m. Friday at Butterfly Grove Apartments.
According to a news release, officers arrested the victim's boyfriend, 18-year-old Andrew Sanchez, at the apartment on the day of the shooting. He was booked into the Fresno County Jail on charges of felony negligent storage of a firearm and felony child endangerment.
On Wednesday, Fresno County Sheriff's Office online records showed Sanchez was no longer listed as an inmate.
It was not immediately known whether he had obtained an attorney.
Investigators: Victim, boyfriend on bed relaxing when toddler shot mom
A preliminary investigation by homicide detectives found Mina lived at the location with her boyfriend, Sanchez, and the victim's two children: an 8-month-old infant and a 2-year-old boy.
Before the shooting, Cervantes said the couple were on the bed relaxing, preparing to go out for the evening, when the shooting happened.
"Detectives learned Sanchez negligently left his loaded 9mm handgun in a location within their bedroom, where children were able to access it," according to a news release. "While handling the firearm, the toddler pulled the trigger and fatally struck his mother with one round."
Sanchez and others in the home "attempted to assist Mina by giving her lifesaving measures," Cervantes said.
Officers who responded to the home encountered Mina as she was being taken by her boyfriend to a medical facility. Cervantes said police told him to stop and wait for EMS to respond, then began more lifesaving measures.
Mina was taken to a local hospital, where she died, police said.
Boyfriend of Jessinya Mina has no criminal history
Cervantes said the handgun "was stored in a location where the toddler accessed the firearm, and at some point, in time, while handling that particular weapon, the toddler was able to manipulate the trigger, and it actually struck Mina as she was lying in bed."
Sanchez has no criminal history, Cervantes said, and said detectives were working to learn to whom the gun is registered.
"This is a very tragic and a very much preventable and avoidable incident," Cervantes said. "He left that firearm in an area that was accessible to a 2-year old toddler."
The investigation remained open, Cervantes said, and autopsy results were pending.
The children are now with Mina's parents, Cervantes said, and following protocol, Child Protective Services was contacted about the case.
'Full of love and life'
In an online fundraiser created by Mina's sister, Jessica Rodriguez, called her a woman "full of love and life and an amazing beautiful mother."
As of Wednesday, nearly three dozen people had donated more than $2,000 to the fundraiser help the family with funeral costs.
Mina's sister told Paste BN she was a stay-at-home mother who was enrolling at a cosmetology school.
"She was a beautiful soul who touched the lives of many people.," Rodriguez said.
Back-to-back December shootings involving children and unsecured guns
The shooting came just four days after a 7-year-old boy accidentally shot and killed his 2-year-old brother inside a truck parked in a shopping center in Rancho Cucamonga, California, about 45 miles east of Los Angeles.
According to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department, the victim and older sibling were in a truck when the 7-year-old found a gun in the glovebox.
First responders rushed the toddler to a hospital, where he died, officials said.
The next day, more than 2,300 miles directly east in North Carolina, a 3-year-old accidentally shot and injured a 1-year-old sibling with a firearm stored in their home, the Cleveland County Sheriff's Office said in a release, according to The Star, part of the Paste BN Network.
The toddler was expected to make a full recovery, authorities reported.
How to store guns around children
According to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly half of unintentional firearm injury deaths among children and adolescents from 2003 to 2021 took place at home while juveniles played with a firearm or showed the firearm to another person.
"Overall, firearms used in unintentional injury deaths were often stored both loaded and unlocked and were commonly accessed from nightstands and other sleeping areas," the report reads.
The California Attorney General's Office warns that firearms should be stored in a locked container and locked with a firearms safety device. Ammunition should be stored separately, and gun owners should never leave a firearm "lying around the house."
Contributing: Julia Gomez
Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for Paste BN. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X @nataliealund.