The medical ex-aminer rules that the shooting was an accident.
OWASSO — An Owasso boy fatally shot his mother Saturday when the gun he was holding went off in a garage, striking her inside the home, authorities said Monday.
"It just appears that he was handling it for whatever reason and it was discharged," Deputy Police Chief Scott Chambless said.
Rayona Lynn Barton, 37, died of a gunshot wound to the head, said Randy Saffell, a spokesman with the state Medical Examiner's Office in Tulsa. Her death was deemed an accident, he said.
Chambless, who said the death remains under investigation, would not release the name or age of the boy, whom he described as a juvenile and not a teenager.
Police officers responded at 9:15 a.m. Saturday to a reported shooting in the 8000 block of North 117th East Avenue, Chambless said.
The boy had been handling a rifle in the garage when it discharged, penetrated several walls in the home and struck Barton in the head, police said. Barton was transported to St. John Owasso hospital, where she later was pronounced dead, Chambless said.
The residence was occupied by several other family members at the time of the shooting, Chambless said.
Police will forward their investigation to the Tulsa County District Attorney's Office.
Barton was a car hop at the Sonic Drive-In near U.S. 169 and 86th Street North, employees there confirmed.
Funeral services are pending with the Green Hill Funeral Home in Sapulpa.
Rhett Morgan 581-8395
rhett.morgan@tulsaworld.com
