An Indiana man will face charges for leaving a loaded gun in his car after his 3-year-old daughter accidentally shot and wounded her pregnant mother.
ABC 57 reports that Shaneque Thomas, 21, was sitting in the front seat of their car outside a strip mall parking lot in Merrillville when her toddler fired the gun, striking the expectant mother between the chest and shoulder. Thomas’ 1-year-old son was also in the car at the time.
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Authorities say the little girl had no idea what she had done and was “very scared,” with Thomas telling police it was a “loud pop, like a balloon.” When she realized it was a gunshot, she saw blood coming from her own body as the bullet had gone through the driver’s seat where she sat, striking her in the back.
Thomas’ boyfriend, identified by police as Menzo Brazien, 21, was inside one of the plaza’s stores, trying on clothes at the time of the shooting. He is being held on a preliminary charge of child endangerment, as he left a loaded Glock19 9mm handgun between the center armrest and the front passenger seat.
An employee from the thrift store that Brazien was inside, told ABC 57 she heard “screaming.”
“We ran outside with a bunch of other people,” the store employee said, with another adding that their first thought was about the children, prompting several to bring them inside and comfort them as best they could.
One of the employee recounts finding blood on the little girl’s jacket, recounting to the agency, “[She was] just looking at me, caressing my neck. Just holding on to me. I was telling her it was OK.”
According to NBC News affiliate Chicago-5, Brazien was “balling his eyes out” when he rushed outside and wrapped his jacket around Thomas’ waist to stop the bleeding until paramedics arrived.
The children have been placed in custody of the Indiana Department of Child Services and remain there.
According to police, Thomas, who is six weeks pregnant, had surgery for the injuries and suffered nerve damage. She was listed in critical, but stable condition.
