On Wednesday, September 21, 2022, 33-year-old Cora Lynn Bush of Spartanburg, South Carolina, died after suffering a single gunshot wound inside her home. Deputies from the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office found Bush injured that morning and she was taken to a local hospital, where she later died.

Investigators concluded the shooting was accidental: Bush’s three-year-old child found an unsecured, loaded handgun and unintentionally discharged it, striking the mother. The child’s grandmother was in the home and her account matched evidence at the scene. Authorities said the probe focused on how the child gained access to the firearm; no arrests or suspects were announced in the immediate aftermath.

This is a domestic tragedy that raises the question of safe firearm storage in homes with young children. If anyone has information about the circumstances of this incident, please come forward.