Idaho mom shot dead in Walmart given purse designed to conceal her gun as Christmas gift from husband
Victoria Rutledge was shopping in Walmart with her 2-year-old son and three nieces when the boy unzipped the special compartment in Rutledge’s new handbag and squeezed off one shot. The bullet struck Rutledge in the head.
BY NANCY DILLON
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
FACEBOOKVeronica Rutledge was with her 2-year-old boy and three nieces when the tragic accident occurred.
The Idaho mom accidentally shot to death by her 2-year-old son in a Walmart was carrying the weapon in a new purse designed to conceal it and given as a Christmas gift by her husband.
"It was designed for that purpose — to carry a concealed firearm," the victim's father-in-law Terry Rutledge told the Washington Post. "And you had to unzip a compartment to find the handgun."
Veronica Rutledge, 29, was shopping Tuesday morning with her son and three nieces in Hayden, Idaho, when the young boy somehow fired the fatal shot from the small-caliber handgun.
"An inquisitive 2-year-old boy reached into the purse, unzipped the compartment, found the gun and shot his mother in the head," Terry Rutledge said. “It's a terrible, terrible incident.”
The distraught father-in-law said his son Colt gave Veronica the bag before the couple drove hundreds of miles north to visit him the day after Christmas.
The couple practiced at shooting ranges and had concealed weapons permits.
"My son is terrible," Terry Rutledge said. "He has a 2-year-old boy right now who doesn't know where his mom is and he'll have to explain why his mom isn't coming home. And then, later in life, as he questions it more, he'll again have to explain what happened, so we'll have to relive this several times over."
FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/GETTY IMAGESThe boy was able to grab the gun from a special compartment in Rutledge’s handbag and squeezed the trigger one time while shopping in Walmart.
Veronica Rutledge was the valedictorian of her high school class and graduated from the University of Idaho with a degree in chemistry.
She went on to become a nuclear scientist at the Idaho National Laboratory near Idaho Falls.
"We're deeply saddened by this tragedy," said Nicole Stricker, a spokeswoman for the lab.
TESS FREEMAN/APPeople stand inside a Walmart in Hayden, Idaho, where the young mother was accidentally shot dead.
The victim and children were at the store Tuesday to spend their Christmas gift cards, relatives said.
The boy was seated in the shopping cart, found the weapon in the purse and discharged it one time, according to the Kootenai County Sheriff's Office.
"This isn't a situation you want to be investigating, with a young child involved," Lt. Stu Miller told the Daily News Wednesday.
"The family is rather grief-stricken and will be dealing with this for many years to come," he said. "Wal-Mart was setting up grief counselors for its workers. Everyone is trying to process what happened."
