Christa Engles Shot By Toddler: 3-Year-Old Reportedly Found Loaded Gun Under Couch

Christa Engles was shot by her toddler as she was seemingly changing her baby’s diaper. Reports indicate that the 26-year-old mother of two died shortly after the accident. The incident happened Monday afternoon in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

According to Tulsa World, Christa Engles was shot by her toddler sometime before 4:30 p.m. on Monday. She was transported to St. John Medical Center in grave condition and she was pronounced dead at the hospital at 5:38 p.m.

Reports indicate that the woman’s husband, Brian Engles, is a truck driver who was out of state at the time of the incident. He returned home around 8 p.m. Monday night after learning of the shooting. A neighbor indicates that he has been in the Army, as well.

Specialists talked with the couple’s 3-year-old son, who then told police that he had pulled the trigger of the semi-automatic handgun he found in the home. Engles was shot in the head.

The Engles lived in the Tulsa home with Christa’s mother. The grandmother is said to have arrived home and found Christa and the two young children inside the house. Fox 23 indicates that when the grandmother came home, she found the two children covered in blood.

At this point, police are calling the incident a “horrible, horrible accident.” KJRH reports that there were several guns in the family’s home, and the 3-year-old apparently found the semi-automatic under the couch. As police worked on the scene, the young boy is said to have repeatedly said, “Mommy shot.”

The New York Daily News shares that Brian Engles posted on Facebook the day after the incident that he had lost his wife to an accident. He added that people shouldn’t forget to tell their loved ones that they are loved, as one never knows when the last “I love you” is really the last.

Neighbors have reportedly rushed to the family’s home to offer support and assistance. Police and neighbors call the incident a tragedy and it seems clear that nobody anticipated such an event occurring in the east Tulsa neighborhood. At this time it’s not known why the gun was left loaded under the couch in a manner that could lead to Christa Engles being shot by the toddler.

This Oklahoma incident comes just days after a 3-year-old boy in Washington was shot by his 4-year-old playmate. In that incident, the two boys were playing in a locked bedroom, it seems, as the victim’s father was in another room. That incident is still under investigation and more details continue to emerge regarding the incident where Christa Engles was shot by her toddler as well.

[Image via the New York Daily News]