Police in central Florida on Tuesday has arrested the father of a
toddler in connection with a shooting that took place in August when the kid found a loaded handgun in his ‘Paw Patrol’ backpack and
fatally shot his mother during a Zoom call for work.

Veondre Avery, 22, who is the father of the toddler, was arrested and charged with
negligent manslaughter and unsafe storage of a firearm, Altamonte Springs
police said.

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Investigators further informed that the 2-year-old found the gun in his backpack on August 11 and fired a single shot that hit his mother, Shamaya Lynn, right in the head.

Soon after the incident, one of Lynn’s colleagues, who also was also a part of the Zoom call dialed 911, reporting
that she heard a noise and saw Lynn fall. The co-worker didn’t know how old
Lynn was or where she lived, but meanwhile, Avery also called 911, begging
responders to hurry as he tried to help Lynn.

“I literally just got home and I come in the room… (and)
my girlfriend who was working on the computer, she’s just laid back and there’s
blood everywhere,” Avery said on the 911 call.

Avery on the 911 call had told the dispatcher that her partner wasn’t breathing, and he could not feel her heartbeat. Later, she was pronounced dead at the scene.

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Investigations have revealed that another child was also at home with Lynn’s toddler at the time of the crime.

However, the police statement at the time of the shooting said, “an adult had left a loaded handgun in the apartment unsecured, and the toddler found it, the statement said. Following this, Veondre Avery was held on the charges of negligent manslaughter and unsafe storage almost two months later.

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The Seminole County State Attorney’s Office said Avery is
being held without bond. Records did not list an attorney who could speak on
his behalf.

(With inputs from Associated Press)