Law enforcement says a 4-year-old boy who fatally shot his brother in a moving pickup truck last week in southern Minnesota found the handgun in the vehicle moments earlier while the kids were briefly left alone in the backseat.
Documents: Kids alone in pickup when boy, 4, found gun, fatally shot little brother in Martin County
Their mother and her boyfriend went back in their home to retrieve a toy, according to court records. The shooting occurred just as they started on their travels, the records added.
October 23, 2023 at 9:35PM
Court records filed last week in Martin County District Court identify the boy who was shot on Oct. 15 as Matthew Alshaikhnasser, who lived with his family in Welcome, Minn.
The two adults in the pickup when the shooting occurred just outside of Welcome were the boy's 26-year-old mother and her 33-year-old boyfriend, the court records revealed.
Chief Sheriff's Deputy Corey Klanderud told the Star Tribune that his office has forwarded the case to the County Attorney's Office for consideration of charges against either or both adults. The Star Tribune generally does not identify suspects before they are charged.
In a brief interview Monday, the mother said, "We are still in mourning. This was a pure freak accident. We love our Mattie."
She also shared a note in a picture frame that read, in part, that her son was an organ donor who "has helped save six lives and helped many more. ... Mattie entered heaven at 6:43 p.m. on 10/17/23 and became an angel."
A search of the boyfriend's pickup by law enforcement on the afternoon of the shooting led to the seizure of three rifles and ammunition and magazines for those weapons, according to court records filed by the Sheriff's Office.
The filings also noted that a holster and magazine for a pistol were confiscated from the pickup, but the list did not include a pistol. However, a source directly familiar with the case said the handgun was recovered at the scene without the need for court intervention.
According to the court records and the Sheriff's Office:
The mother and her boyfriend were in the driveway outside the home before they left the boys alone in the vehicle while they went back inside to retrieve a toy.
The boyfriend told law enforcement that he thinks the 4-year-old crawled up to the front seat, grabbed a gun and a bag of ammunition from the passenger side door, then returned to his car seat in the back before the couple came back to pickup.
As the pickup was traveling on 130th Avenue near 130th Street, the boyfriend continued, he and the boys' mother heard a gunshot, looked back and saw that Matthew had been shot in the head.
A call to 911 from either the mother or the boyfriend led to sheriff's deputies meeting the family on the side of the road, where cardiopulmonary resuscitation on Matthew was underway.
An air ambulance arrived and took the 2-year-old to a Rochester hospital for further medical attention, but he did not survive.
Austin nonprofits are teaming up with Hormel to improve food access and create a blueprint for other communities.
