Authorities want charge for mom of 4-year-old who shot her

PALATKA, Fla. (AP) – The mother of a 4-year-old boy who shot her as they were riding in a pickup truck should face a misdemeanor charge, authorities said Tuesday.

The mother, Jamie Gilt, put a loaded handgun underneath the front seat and at some point during a drive, the weapon slid into the back where her son Lane was riding in a booster seat, Putnam County Sheriff’s Capt. Gator DeLoach said. The boy, who had recently learned how to unbuckle himself, got out of his seat and picked up the gun, firing through the front seat, hitting his mother in the back.

She was in the hospital but DeLoach wasn’t sure if she was still there or her current condition.

Gilt was apparently a gun lover who made numerous social media postings about gun rights. DeLoach wouldn’t talk about that at a news conference, saying investigators only focused narrowly on what happened March 8. He wouldn’t confirm Gilt’s gun advocacy or reports that she had taught her son how to shoot.

Police say they are recommending a charge of allowing a child access to a firearm. He says it will be up to prosecutors to decide whether to file the charge. She has not been arrested.

Messages left for prosecutors and Gilt were not immediately returned.

The state’s child welfare agency is also investigating. The agency didn’t immediately comment.