DOLTON, Ill. — A young Illinois mother died Saturday night after her toddler accidentally shot her while they were parked outside a Dolton supermarket.
Dejah Bennet, 22, died a short while after a gun police say her 3-year-old son found discharged inside their vehicle, striking her in the neck, WLS-TV reported.
Bennet died a short while later at an area hospital, the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed.
“This could have been prevented,” Dolton trustee and crisis responder Andrew Holmes told WLS-TV.
Police confirmed to the Chicago Sun-Times that the child’s father has been arrested, but no charges have been announced.
According to WLS-TV, Holmes on Sunday stood outside the Food-4-Less where the shooting occurred, handing out 400 gun locks while speaking to shoppers – especially families – about the importance of gun safety.
“All it takes is a second: unlock it, thread it through the barrel, bring it back around, put it in and lock it back,” Holmes said, demonstrating the mechanism.
“If you leave it, secure it,” he added.
©2022 Cox Media Group
