A Florida mom has been apprehended and taken into custody on multiple charges after her two-year-old son got ahold of a gun and shot his father, who was pronounced dead at the hospital, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
On May 26, 2022, deputies responded to a home on Tobie Court and discovered 26-year-old Reggie Maybry shot. He was rushed to the hospital where he later died, OCSO said in a news release.
Authorities said the fatal shooting was initially being investigated as a possible suicide, but at the hospital, it was determined that Maybry was shot in the back. A five-year-old told investigators that his younger brother shot their father, according to Fox35.
A five-month-old child was also at the home at the time of the shooting, authorities said. Sheriff John Mina told reporters that the two-year-old child was able to access the gun because it was not secured, which led to charges against the children’s mother.
The 28-year-old mom, Marie Rose Ayala, was arrested and booked into jail on manslaughter by culpable negligence, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of ammunition by a convicted felon, and violation of probation.
Sheriff Mina said Ayala and her husband were both convicted felons, on probation, and were not allowed to own a firearm. He described the situation as “tragic,” saying it should serve as a reminder for gun owners to secure their firearms.
