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Authorities found six firearms in the home, four of them loaded.
The death of a two-year-old boy in north Alabama has led to criminal charges against his mother, as investigators outlined how a gun left within reach of children turned a family home into the scene of a fatal shooting, several news outlets report.
WRBC 6 reports that Blount County sheriff’s deputies and Hayden police were dispatched to a home on Orchard Circle around 10 a.m. on Jan. 7 after a report that a child had been shot. When officers arrived, the toddler was breathing but unresponsive, with a gunshot wound to the head.
The child, later identified as Noah Etress by local news, was taken by ambulance to Children’s of Alabama, where he was pronounced dead.
Investigators said early indications suggested the shooting was accidental, but authorities do not believe the wound was self-inflicted.
According to investigators, six children were inside the home at the time.
Investigation details
CBS 42 reports that District Attorney Pamela Casey announced Friday that Noah’s mother, 40-year-old Evelyn Leyva Etress, is charged with reckless manslaughter and aggravated child abuse, along with multiple drug-related offenses.
Casey described the investigation as difficult, saying, “This is a straight up tragedy.”
She added, “When a gun is left out, a child doesn’t see danger, they see something familiar.”
Investigators said Etress told them she had left several children unattended in a bedroom while she went to the kitchen. After hearing a loud noise, she found a handgun on the closet floor and Noah bleeding from the head.
Prosecutor’s warning
According to AL.com, a search of the home uncovered six firearms, four of them loaded and accessible to children, according to authorities
Law enforcement also reported finding marijuana, suspected mushrooms and drug paraphernalia.
Casey said the case was not about opposing gun ownership. “I believe in the right of law-abiding citizens to own firearms,” she said, adding that firearms must be secured when children are present.
“We don’t leave knives laying out in our home so our children can grab them,” Casey said. “A firearm is not a toy and it’s not a teaching moment for a toddler.”
Etress remains in the Blount County Jail on a $90,000 bond. Her husband, who was at work at the time of the shooting, has not been charged.
Sources: Blount County District Attorney’s Office, Blount County Sheriff’s Office, WRBC 6, al.com, CBS 42
