The net force required to pull a Kel-Tec 9-millimeter pistol is about 5½ to 6½ pounds. That trivia is important this week to Fresno police as they investigate how a young child could shoot his mother.
Authorities have arrested the 18-year-old owner of the gun and are investigating how the 2½-year-old obtained the weapon and fired once, striking and killing his mother Friday evening.
Fresno police booked Andrew Sanchez, the boyfriend of the victim, Jessinya Mina, on charges of child endangerment and criminal possession of a firearm.
He was released on bail, according to Lt. Paul Cervantes, head of the Fresno Police Street Violence Bureau, while police continue to investigate the circumstances of the incident.
“As you can imagine,” Cervantes said at a press conference this week, “it’s difficult because we have to grapple with the idea that a 2½-year-old child might be strong enough to use a gun.”
Attempts to reach Sanchez were unsuccessful.
Mina was the mother of a young boy who authorities believe shot and killed an 8-month-old girl. Both now live with his parents.
The family’s plan last Friday evening was to go out, Cervantes said.
The four were chilling in the bedroom of their apartment not far from Fresno State University around 5:30 p.m. when a small child grabbed a loaded weapon, according to Cervantes.
Mina, who was lying in bed, was hit in the back, according to authorities.
Exactly how the child got hold of the gun is still under investigation. Cervantes noted that the weapon was improperly stored in the family room.
The police responded at around 17:38 pm The police arrived when Sanchez was trying to drive his sick girlfriend to the nearest trauma center. They stopped him outside the Butterfly Grove Apartments.
They and paramedics gave the victim first aid, according to the authorities, and tried to take him to the hospital. He died on the way, said Cervantes.
Sanchez was interviewed by detectives and eventually arrested.
Cervantes said Sanchez had no criminal record, and was not part of a gang. How he got the weapon is still under investigation.
The gun had no external safety devices that would have prevented the firing, Cervantes noted.
At the news conference, Cervantes advised children to warn adults about any unsupervised weapons.
“Unfortunately, this time,” he said, “we’re talking about a 2½-year-old who probably didn’t have enough vision to understand what was going on.”
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