ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. – Altamonte Springs police have arrested the owner of a gun that was used by a toddler who shot and killed their mother while she was on a Zoom call.
Police said Seminole County deputies arrested Veondre Avery on Tuesday, just over two months after the deadly shooting of Shamaya Lynn, 21.
Lynn was shot on Aug. 11 while she was on a Zoom conference call for work, according to police. Witnesses told officers that they saw a toddler in the background, then heard a noise and Lynn fell away from view, records show.
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Someone on the Zoom call dialed 911. When officers arrived they found Avery trying to perform CPR on the victim, according to a news release. First responders tried to help Lynn when they arrived, but police said she had been shot in the head.
Investigators said they determined a toddler had found a loaded gun in the apartment that was unsecured. Police said at the time that the gun belonged to the child’s father.
“Your decisions have consequences and this was just a decision that was a very poor one,” Ofc. Roberto Ruiz said. “You have a responsibility as a gun owner to take care of those firearms.”
Officers did not say where the toddler found the gun, only that it was unsecured inside the apartment where the shooting happened and easily accessible. However, a news release from the State Attorney’s Office of Seminole and Brevard Counties said the child located the gun inside a child’s “Paw Patrol” backpack.
Investigators said there were no other firearms found in the home.
The toddler, along with a second child of Avery and Lynn, has been staying with relatives since the shooting, according to police.
Avery faces charges of negligent manslaughter and unsafe storage of a firearm. He is being held at the Seminole County jail without bond.
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