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Jamie Gilt: Mom Shot By Toddler Could Be Heading To Jail

By Jennifer Deutschmann
Published on: 11:38 PST, Mar 25, 2016

Jamie Gilt 31, whose four-year-old son accidentally shot her in the back on March 8, could be charged with a criminal misdemeanor for unsafe storage of a firearm. Officials said Gilt was negligent because her son managed to get his hands on her .45 caliber handgun and fire it through the driver’s seat while she was driving down the road.

Jamie Gilt was on her way to pick up a horse and was traveling west on State Road 20. According to reports, she wanted to make a U-turn and was waiting for a break in traffic when she felt something strike her in the back.

She realized her son had fired her gun when she noticed the windshield of her truck was cracked and realized she was bleeding from her chest. Jamie immediately contacted a cousin who lives in the area.

Before the cousin could arrive, a patrol car approached Jamie’s truck. She flashed her lights and waved to get his attention. The deputy immediately recognized there was a problem and called for assistance after securing the handgun which he found on the rear floorboard.

Jamie Gilt was hospitalized for the gunshot wound, and her son is currently staying with relatives. Authorities said the child welfare agency is aware of the situation and is conducting its own investigation.

During a recent press conference, which was published in Cosmopolitan, Captain Gator DeLoach revealed Gilt’s gun did not have a trigger lock and was not holstered.

“… Jamie placed the gun… under the front seat of the truck… the gun apparently slid back to the rear floorboard, below where her four-year-old son was seated in a booster seat. According to family members, the child recently learned to unbuckle his seatbelt. Investigators discovered the child removed himself from the seat, presumably to grab a toy from the floorboard, saw the gun, picked it up and accidentally fired through the rear of the driver seat… The bullet struck [Jamie] in the back and exited through her chest.”

An affidavit and copy of the investigation charging Gilt with a violation of Florida Statutes regarding the safe storage of firearms have been forwarded to the State Attorney’s Office for appraisal.

According to Florida law, it is illegal for minors to hold a firearm unless they are under adult supervision. However, there are exemptions to the law if the minor is at least 16 and is engaged in legal hunting, a marksmanship competition, or a leisure shooting activity, and only if the weapon is not loaded during transport.

Hours before the shooting, Gilt, a pro-gun advocate, bragged on Facebook about her son “getting jacked up to target shoot with the 22.” Gilt has a strong social media presence, posting photos of herself posing with guns. Her timeline is also filled with posts supporting the National Rifle Association and Second Amendment memes. Her last post was a mock Brady Campaign photo which supported using a gun against a burglar.

Gilt’s mother, Mrs. Bramble, said she grew around up guns, and so did her daughter. “If they try to take our guns from us they’ll just go into the hands of criminals. People own guns here, it’s our way of life – hunting and shooting. But I’d still own a gun if I lived in New York City,” she said.

Daily Mail reports Jamie Gilt has a criminal history. In 2013, she was arrested by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Department for stealing over $500 worth of shorts from the Juniors department of Dillards and concealing them in her baby’s stroller. She was charged with a felony count of Grand Theft retail. Officers released her on a $2,503 bond.

[Image via Facebook]

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