MILWAUKEE – A 2-year-old boy fatally shot his mother from the back seat of the car as she drove along a Milwaukee highway, sheriff’s officials said Wednesday, less than two months after a Florida mother was shot and wounded in similar circumstances.
The Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office said Patrice Price, 26, of Milwaukee, died at the scene Tuesday morning.
The child, who was sitting in the back seat, picked up a gun that slid out from under the driver’s seat and fired it through the front seat, striking Price, the department said in a statement, citing witness accounts. A .40-calibre gun was recovered from the floor of the back seat behind the driver, along with a security officer’s gun belt belonging to the victim’s boyfriend, sheriff’s officials said.
Price’s father, Andre, told The Associated Press that the car belongs to his daughter’s boyfriend.
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Also in the car were Patrice Price’s mother and 1-year-old son, both in the front passenger seat. Officials said the 2-year-old boy was not riding in a car seat in the back. The statement did not mention if he was wearing a seat belt.
After the shooting, deputies performed CPR until emergency medical personnel arrived. Price was pronounced dead at the scene.
Price’s 28-year-old brother, Antonio Price, told AP that no one else was injured in the incident.
“She was the best mom for her kids, put clothes on their back,” Antonio Price said. “When I needed her, she always cared for me and gave me great advice.”
Andre Price described his daughter as a hardworking mother of three, saying she also had a daughter aged 7 or 8. He said the family will focus on funeral arrangements, and that they will need help with the cost
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Patrice Price’s mother declined comment when contacted by the AP by phone Wednesday afternoon through her son, saying she had said all she was going to say about the matter to police.
The sheriff’s office declined comment on whether the case was being investigated as a potential crime. The Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office said it was too early to know whether charges would be filed.
Last month in Florida, Jamie Gilt, 31, was shot in the back by her 4-year-old son who used a handgun that slid from underneath the front seat to the back where he was seated. Gilt survived the shooting.
Putnam County sheriff’s officials said the boy had recently learned how to unbuckle himself. He climbed out of his seat, picked up the gun and fired through the front seat, hitting his mother in the back, investigators said.