Mother of pro-gun US woman who was shot by 4-year-old son says it was just a 'freakish accident'

Staunch gun advocate Jamie Gilt had boasted online about her son's shooting prowess a day before she was accidentally shot by him, on March 8, 2016. PHOTO: TWITTER/ JAMIE GILT

The mother of the pro-gun American woman who was shot by her four-year-old son believes that her daughter had done nothing wrong and that the incident was just a "freakish accident".

"People are trying to make it into something it's not, we are not criminals, we are the victims here," her mother Jane Bramble, 71, said in an exclusive interview with Daily Mail Online.

Her grandson had accidentally shot her daughter Jamie Gilt, 31, in the back, on Wednesday (March 9). The boy used a .45-calibre handgun he had found on the floor of the vehicle they were in, as his mother was driving through Putnam County, Jacksonville, Florida.

The mother and boy were on their way to pick up a horse, said police, who rushed to Ms Gilt's aid after a police officer slowed to check why the vehicle had stopped.

Ms Gilt told police that her son, who has not been named, had accidentally shot her.

She was so badly wounded that police detectives have been unable to interview her from her hospital bed.

Detectives said she could face police action after they work out how the boy got his hands on the gun.

Mrs Bramble said the boy is doing fine and watching cartoons.

The whole family had been shocked and troubled by the shooting, she said.

However, she insisted that her daughter had no crime to answer to.

"She grew up with guns and I grew up with guns. This is the country - if you see something come onto your property what are you going to do? Shoot it. If I see a rattlesnake come up here I'll blow it to bits. What would you do?" Mrs Bramble said.

"If they try to take our guns from us they'll just go into the hands of criminals. People own guns here, it's our way of life - hunting and shooting. But I'd still own a gun if I lived in New York City," she added.

She said: "The sheriff hasn't spoken to her as far as I know. Why would he?"

She added that the police have not spoken to her grandson too.

Ms Gilt, who is now in a stable condition, is a staunch gun advocate who had earlier boasted online about her toddler's shooting prowess.

On Monday, Ms Gilt concluded a discussion on Facebook about possessing weapons for self-defence by boasting: "Even my four-year-old gets jacked up to target shoot the .22."

Reading an official statement to the Daily Mail Online, the family expressed thanks for all the prayers and support they have received.

"I've had phone calls from people I haven't heard from in years. People are being supportive; they know this is our way of life".

"Of course you have to be respectful of guns. You can't just get angry and pull your gun on somebody but this was just an accident and we just want to get over it as a family," Mrs Bramble said.

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