In a tragic and unforeseen turn of events, 26-year-old Christa Engles, a female U.S. Army veteran and active reservist, lost her life in what authorities have described as a 'horrible, horrible accident.' The incident occurred on a Monday afternoon in November 2014, inside her Tulsa, Oklahoma, home. Engles was reportedly in the process of changing her one-year-old daughter's diaper when the unthinkable happened.
Her three-year-old son discovered a loaded semi-automatic handgun that had been stored under a couch.
The young boy, in his innocence, picked up the large-caliber weapon and it discharged. A single shot struck Engles in the head. Her mother, who also resided in the home, arrived to a harrowing scene, finding her daughter grievously wounded and the two young children covered in blood. The toddler repeatedly uttered the words, 'Mommy shot.' Emergency services were called, and Engles was rushed to St. John Medical Center. Despite the efforts of medical professionals, she was pronounced dead at 5:38 p.m.
The Tulsa Police Department investigated the shooting and ultimately ruled her death an accident. At the time of the incident, Engles' husband, a truck driver and also reported to be an Army veteran, was out of state for work. He returned home later that evening to the devastating news. In the days that followed, he took to social media to express his grief, sharing that he had lost his wife in an accident and urged others to always tell their loved ones they are loved, as one never knows when it will be the last time. No arrests were made, and no suspects were named, as the police concluded that the fatal shooting was a tragic accident.
