Shamaya Lynn was 21 and a mother from Altamonte Springs, Florida. On August 11, 2021, she was fatally shot in the head during a work Zoom call after one of her two toddlers found a loaded, unsecured handgun in their apartment. A colleague on the call heard a loud noise, saw Lynn fall backward bleeding, and called 911 while a baby cried in the background. Lynn’s boyfriend and father of the children also called 911 when he returned home and found her unconscious and bleeding.

Police investigators reported the firearm had been left unsecured inside a child’s Paw Patrol backpack on the floor, within the toddlers’ reach. The Altamonte Springs Police Department worked with the Seminole County State Attorney’s Office; two months later the children’s father, Veondre Avery, was arrested and charged with negligent manslaughter and unsafe storage of a firearm. Lynn’s family described her as bubbly, smart, and committed to providing for her boys and said the death was a preventable tragedy.

If anyone knew Shamaya or was in the Altamonte Springs area that day, does any detail about the apartment or the events around the shooting deserve closer attention?