[user104658]

Originally Posted by Livia

It was probably a revolver, they don't have safety catches.

I can't see a two year old having the strength in their hand to pull the trigger on a revolver... it's actually very hard to do by accident. For a toddler to have pulled the trigger, it's very likely that the gun was a small semi specifically designed for females who are not regular users of firearms, as the triggers are much easier to pull... which is why I completely agree with the above - having one kicking around in a bag, loaded, is madness. You could throw your car keys into your bag and shoot yourself in the face.

Seems more likely that either the safety wasn't properly engaged, or the toddler somehow took it off, but then if that was the case he would have to have been fiddling around with it for a while without her noticing!

Originally Posted by ChristmasNeeve

He's still going to have to live with the knowledge that he was the one who killed his mother (obviously not his fault but still a horrible thing to have to live with)

If I was the person now responsible for him, I think I'd probably try to make sure they didn't find out until adulthood when they would be more likely to be able to appreciate that it wasn't in any way their fault. A child would find that hard to understand. At just 2, he thankfully won't realise what happened, or remember it himself.