According to the police officials, the 38-year-old woman was driving with her 14-year-old son and 20-month-old toddler in the backseat of the vehicle. Police say the teenager was manipulating a loaded firearm when it discharged, striking the toddler in the right upper leg. Though the teenager apparently informed his mother that the gun had gone off, she continued driving to their home, which was about a mile away, police said. When they arrived, her son threw away the gun and carried his sibling into the house while the mother unloaded her groceries.
Upon arriving home, Veronica never attempted to remove the gun from her teenage son’s possession, examine her toddler, the teenager. or the car for the effects of the gun going off, or call the police, according to the police report.
After Veronica unloaded the groceries, her son reportedly told her that the toddler had been injured when the gun went off; at that point, she transported both children to the hospital, approximately two miles away.
The staff, as is required by law, notified police that they had a gunshot victim. Since the toddler required medical attention that the Community Hospital could not provide, transportation was eventually arranged for the toddler to be moved to the Loma Linda University Medical Center.
Veronica Pyatt and her son were arrested at the hospital on multiple felony charges. She was held on a $100,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in court on Thursday. The teen was sent to the juvenile detention center as police and Child and Family Services continue to investigate the incident.