A high-profile pro-gun activist was shot in the back by her four-year-old son after he found her pistol lying on the back seat of her truck just 24 hours after she boasted about his shooting skills online.

Jamie Gilt, 31, who posts about firearms on her social media accounts was driving through Putnam County, Jacksonville, Florida, on Tuesday in her truck when she was wounded after the toddler picked up the weapon and shot her in the back.

It came just a day after she said the youngster would get 'jacked up' before a shooting practice on a page dedicated to her musings on Second Amendment rights.

On the profile Jamie Gilt for Gun Sense she wrote: 'Even my 4 year old gets jacked up to target shoot with the .22'.

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She reportedly believes she has the right to shoot anyone who threatens her family - and plans to teach her offspring the same mentality.

According to CBS47, Gilt was on her way to pick up a horse when the shooting unfolded.

Her four-year-old son picked up a loaded .45 semi-automatic handgun from the back seat, pointed it towards his mother and pulled the trigger.

The powerful round went through the front seat and passed through Gilt's body .

Gilt flagged down a passing Sheriff's deputy and told him that she had been shot.

Deputies recovered a .45 semi-automatic handgun from the floor of the truck. They are satisfied that the round was fired from inside the vehicle.

Gilt and her son had been travelling to pick up a horse from a relative when the accident happened.


Putman County Sheriff's office spokesman Joseph Wells said a deputy noticed a truck with a horse trailer driving erratically: 'As the deputy slowed to check on the vehicle, he observed an adult female in the driver's seat motioning to him as if she needed assistance.

'The deputy ran to the vehicle and quickly determined that the driver had been shot.

'The deputy notified the dispatcher of the situation and Putnam County Fire / Rescue was dispatched.

'The deputy provided first aid until the arrival of paramedics. The victim was transported to University of Florida Health in Gainesville and was last reported to be in stable condition.

'The only other occupant of the vehicle was the victim's four-year-old son, who was unharmed.

'The investigation by Major Crimes Unit Detectives and the analysis of the crime scene confirmed that the victim was accidentally shot by the young boy who was sitting in the back seat of the vehicle.

'The young man was reunited with other family members and Putnam County Sheriff's Office Victim Services Specialists continue to work with the family.

'The Florida Department of Children and Family Services are being notified and the investigation into how the child came to be in possession of the handgun is ongoing.'

According the Florida Times Union, the responding deputy noticed the boy was not strapped to the booster seat in the car when he arrived at the scene.

Wells said: 'We're satisfied that this is not a criminal shooting.'

However Gilt may face criminal charges if the State Attorney's Office determine there was negligence on how the child obtained the firearm.