Florida mom, shot by four-year-old, won’t face charges over gun

By Letitia Stein

TAMPA, Fla. (Reuters) – A Florida mother agreed to store her gun more safely and take other steps to avoid criminal charges after her four-year-old son picked up the gun she kept in her car and accidentally shot her in the back, state prosecutors said on Friday.

Jamie Lynn Gilt, 31, has entered a deferred prosecution agreement on a charge of unsafe storage of a firearm, Spencer Hathaway, a spokesman for State Attorney’s Office in Florida’s Seventh Judicial Circuit, said in a statement.

She is required to complete a gun safety course and install a mounted holster in her vehicle, and show proof that firearms in her home are safely stored, the statement said.

Gilt must also give 10 speeches about the March 8 incident, which drew wide attention after local media reported she was a staunch advocate for the right to carry guns, citing her apparent comments on social media.

Gilt was struck in the back, while the child was unharmed. Prosecutors agreed to dismiss the charge recommended by a local sheriff if she meets the safety conditions in their agreement.

“Jamie is happy to be able to share Mother’s Day with her family and put this unfortunate incident behind her,” her attorney, Bryan DeMaggio, said in a phone interview.

Authorities said Gilt was licensed to carry the weapon that she had placed under the edge of the driver’s seat. It slid to the back floor, where her child picked it up.

(Reporting by Letitia Stein; Editing by David Gregorio)