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Police operation in the USA (symbolic image)
Photo: ANDRI TAMBUNAN / AFP
There has been another tragic death in connection with a firearm in the USA: On Thursday, a 25-year-old shot his mother while she was trying to get into the back door of the house they shared in Missouri.
As the defendant's lawyer told a local newspaper, Jaylen Johnson thought his mother, Monica McNichols-Johnson, was an intruder and therefore took up the gun.
Johnson is said to have called 911 immediately after the shot.
Attempts by the perpetrator's girlfriend to revive the woman were unsuccessful.
When the police arrived around 7:30 a.m., the mother had already died.
Prosecutors have filed charges against Johnson.
He is now being investigated for manslaughter and committing an act of violence with a weapon.
The 25-year-old is a working former college football player.
Jaylen Johnson has no criminal record.
According to his lawyer, Johnson allegedly had a gun for self-protection since he was robbed at gunpoint.
Johnson was desperate and "didn't stop crying," the lawyer continued.
Firearms and their ownership are a hot topic in the USA.
They are the leading cause of death for young people in the United States.
Tens of thousands die every year in gunfights or rampages;
Hardly a week goes by without reports of deaths.
The issue is also likely to play an important role in this year's presidential election: Trump wants to repeal all of Biden's gun restrictions if he is re-elected.
spr/AP/Reuters