A vocal online gun-rights advocate suffered injuries this week after her 4-year-old son shot her from the back seat of her vehicle.
Police found Jamie Gilt, a 31-year-old from Jacksonville, Florida, pulled over in her truck in Putnam County on Tuesday afternoon, reported the Florida Times-Union. Gilt told officers she had been shot in the back. Her son was in the back seat, police said, and there was a .45-caliber handgun on the floor of the vehicle.
Gilt is in stable condition, according to the New York Daily News.
“She was shot through the seat and the round went through her back,” Capt. Joseph Wells of the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department told the Times-Union. Wells added that there was a booster seat in the vehicle but the boy was not in it when officers arrived.
The accidental shooting gained national attention due to Gilt’s online activities as an avid gun enthusiast. She operates a public Facebook page entitled Jamie Gilt for Gun Sense that is made up of stories, photos, and memes about guns, the U.S. military, and Second Amendment politics. On her personal Facebook page, Gilt appears to support Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) in his bid for the White House.
“My right to protect my child with my gun trumps your fear of my gun,” Gilt wrote in one Facebook post from February. Other posts reflect similar sentiments.
In a statement, the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office said Gilt legally owned the firearm used in the accidental shooting, “and the child came to possess the firearm without the victim’s knowledge.” Police are reportedly attempting to determine whether the boy was fastened to the booster seat as part of their investigation.
“Florida Statute makes it a misdemeanor for a person to store or leave, on a premise under his or her control, a loaded firearm in such a manner that it is likely a child can gain access to the firearm,” the PCSO statement continued. “The investigation is ongoing to determine exactly how the firearm was stored in the vehicle.”
Detectives have not filed charges in the case as they continue to investigate the matter. Florida Department of Children and Family Services are aware of the incident, police said, and family members are caring for the boy during his mother’s recovery.
Gilt did not respond to a request for comment.
Photo via Jamie Glit/Twitter | Remix by Max Fleishman
