A woman in Rockwood, Tennessee, has been arrested for shooting and killing a 4-year-old girl while allegedly teaching gun safety on Sunday, local authorities said.
According to arrest papers from the Roane County Sheriff’s Office, Breanna Gayle Runions, 25, was charged with first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse neglect or endangerment 8 or under in connection with the death of Evangeline Gunter.
According to warrants, on August 27 Runions removed the magazine from the Taurus Millennium 9mm pistol she legally owned to show that it was still secure without it, eventually releasing the trigger while aiming the rifle at the little girl’s torso.
Authorities say a second woman and a kid witnessed the incident. The former claimed she saw Runions pull out her revolver, empty the magazine, and place the weapon to the girl’s chest as she was sitting on the bed in the same room. The latter said that when the bullet struck a bottle, pieces of glass flew in her way.
According to the arrest warrant, Runions had previously struck the two girls with a sandal and ordered them to stand in the corner of her bedroom as a punishment for breaking the rules.
Ninth District Attorney General Russell Johnson said that Runions and the other adult woman present on the crime scene were not the girl’s parents, and investigators are trying to figure out why the victim was in that house.
