Pro-Gun Activist Shot by Her 4-Year-Old Son After He Grabs Gun From Back Seat of Her Truck

Pro-gun activist and mother Jamie Gilt was accidentally shot in the back by her 4-year-old son, the Florida Times-Union reported. The accident happened after the child picked up a pistol that was lying on the back seat of his Gilt’s truck.

Image via Facebook/Jamie Gilt for Gun Sense

Gilt, who runs several pro-firearms social media accounts, was driving through Jacksonville, Florida, Tuesday when her son picked up a .45 semiautomatic handgun from the back seat, pointed it toward Gilt and pulled the trigger. The bullet pierced through the front seat and passed through Gilt's body.

Shortly afterward, Gilt, 31, caught the attention of a passing sheriff's deputy and said she'd been wounded. Deputies recovered the pistol from the floor of the truck and determined that the round had been fired from inside the vehicle.

At the time of the accident, Gilt and her son were on their way to pick up a horse from a relative.

A deputy observed a truck with a horse trailer driving erratically, Putman County Sheriff's office spokesman Joseph Wells told the Times-Union: “As the deputy slowed to check on the vehicle, he observed an adult female in the driver’s seat motioning to him as if she needed assistance.”

When the deputy ran up to the vehicle, he quickly determined that Gilt had been shot. He notified dispatch of the situation and emergency services were sent to the scene. Wells said the deputy provided first aid until paramedics arrived. Gilt was then taken to a hospital where she was last reported to be in stable condition.

“The only other occupant of the vehicle was the victim’s 4-year-old son, who was unharmed,” Wells confirmed.

Before she was transported to the hospital, Gilt told deputies that her son had accidentally shot her, a claim later confirmed by Putman County Sheriff's Major Crimes Unit detectives.

Wells said that after the accident Gilt’s son was reunited with other family members. The Florida Department of Children and Family Services were notified of the incident. The investigation into how the child got his hands on the pistol is ongoing.

“We’re satisfied that this is not a criminal shooting,” Wells said.

According the Florida Times Union, the deputy who discovered Gilt observed that her son was not strapped into his booster seat.

Gilt, who officials confirmed legally owned the gun, may face criminal charges for negligence if the State Attorney's Office rules that the accident stemmed from a failure on her part to secure the gun from the child's reach.

Gilt runs "Jamie Gilt for Gun Sense," where she posts pro-gun photos and articles.

“Even my 4 year old gets jacked up to target shoot with the .22,” Gilt wrote on Facebook Monday during an online debate over the use of guns in self-defense.

Since the accident occurred, many Facebook users said what happened to Gilt was well-deserved in light of her enthusiasm for guns, as messages and photos mocking the shooting have flooded Gilt's timelines.

One user even created a parody Facebook page titled "Jamie Gilt's Son, Athlete."

"This page exists to commemorate the pinpoint accuracy of the 4-year old son of 'Gun Sense' expert Jamie Gilt," the page description reads.

(H/T: Florida Times Union)