In a tragic incident on Wednesday, January 7, 2026, a 2-year-old boy named Noah Etress died from a gunshot wound in his Hayden, Alabama, home. The Blount County Sheriff's Office and Hayden Police Department responded to a call around 10 a.m. at a residence on Orchard Circle. Upon arrival, they found Noah unresponsive with a gunshot wound to the head.
He was transported to Children's of Alabama where he later passed away.
The initial investigation suggested the shooting was accidental, though authorities do not believe the wound was self-inflicted. Noah was the youngest of five siblings, all of whom were at home with their mother, Evelyn Leyva Etress, at the time of the incident. According to the mother's account to investigators, she had left two of her four-year-old daughters unattended in the master bedroom where loaded firearms were accessible. After hearing a gunshot, she saw the girls running from the closet and discovered Noah bleeding with a handgun on the floor. Investigators found at least three unsecured long guns in the home in addition to the handgun recovered at the scene.
Following the incident, Noah's mother, 40-year-old Evelyn Leyva Etress, was taken into custody. She has since been charged with reckless manslaughter and aggravated child abuse. During the investigation, authorities also discovered marijuana, suspected mushrooms, and drug paraphernalia in the home, leading to additional drug-related charges against Etress. She was held in the Blount County Jail on a $90,000 bond. The other children in the home were placed in the custody of the Department of Human Resources. The children's father was at work at the time of the shooting and has not been charged.
