8-year-old dies in shooting with gun left in car, Utah officials say. Mom faces charges
A Utah mom is accused of manslaughter in the accidental shooting death of her 8-year-old son after officials said she left an unsecured gun in her minivan while going into a convenience store.
The boy, who had special needs, was in the van and “got ahold of the weapon and it accidentally discharged,” hitting him in the head and killing him, a court document said.
Jennifer Marie Pu’u, 44, of Lehi, faces charges of manslaughter and abuse or neglect of a child with a disability, according to the court document.
Pu’u doesn’t yet have an attorney listed and couldn’t immediately be reached by McClatchy News for comment Dec. 6.
She drove her minivan to the store on the evening of Sept. 2 with her son inside, officials said.
“(She) got out of the vehicle and went into the store, leaving the child alone in the car. Also in the vehicle was (her) loaded and unsecured .380 M&P Shield pistol,” officials said.
The shooting happened within about two minutes, officials said.
Pu’u told police that the gun had been under the driver’s seat, the court document said. But there wasn’t enough room under the seat for the pistol, officials said.
“In the back driver’s side seat, there was a fanny pack that held cash and a magazine of ammunition for the gun. There was no holster nor any type of secure retention container for the handgun in the vehicle,” the court document said.
Police interviewed the boy’s father, who is Pu’u’s ex-husband, and he said she “was known to leave guns ‘laying around.’ He said he had told her over and over not to leave guns laying around, and it was a contentious point in their marriage,” officials said.
A behavioral therapist who worked with the 8-year-old also twice saw unsecured handguns “within easy reach of children” in the home, according to the court document. The therapist also reported seeing the boy playing with toy guns with his siblings and said he had “no concept of the danger a real gun presented,” the court document said.
Lehi is about a 30-mile drive south from Salt Lake City.
This story was originally published December 6, 2024 at 11:20 AM with the headline "8-year-old dies in shooting with gun left in car, Utah officials say. Mom faces charges."
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