Gainesville woman facing felonies for shooting kids with bb gun
Amy Dunn Trout, 37, of Gainesville, is facing multiple felony counts in connection with a situation earlier this month in which she reportedly shot her two kids with a bb gun as a form of punishment.
According to the probable cause statement, prepared by Deputy Vesa Phelan, on April 17, he and fellow Deputy Jeffrey Lane were assigned to help a Division of Family Services worker with a hotline call that had come from Gainesville Elementary School about two children who had reportedly been shot by a bb gun by their mother as a form of punishment.
The worker asked to speak with the children alone, and Trout gave her permission. The worker asked the children if they knew why she was there and what her job was. She told them she was there to ensure they were safe and ensure their protection.
She asked if anything had recently happened, and a 5-year-old boy told the worker that “Mommy got mad” and shot them with the bb gun. The worker asked where they were shot, and the boy reportedly lifted his shirt and showed a bruise that “was clearly made from a bb strike.”
An 8-year-old girl then said that she and her brother had played with the bb gun when they were not supposed to and left it outside, which had angered their mom. She said Trout had shot the boy while he was jumping on the trampoline. The girl said when she saw the mom shoot the boy, she started to run away, but her mom shot her before she could get away. The girl also pulled up her shirt and showed the worker where she had been struck. The girl pointed out about how far away they were when they were struck, a distance of about 10 or 15 feet.
The DFS worker then asked Trout if she knew why they were there, and she said she did. She asked Trout what happened that day, and she told the worker that she found the bb gun outside and got mad because the two children had been told not to play with the gun. She said she shot at the kids, not thinking she’d ever hit them.
At that time, Deputy Lane asked to see the bb gun, and Trout retrieved it from the garage. It was a pink and black Daisy-brand lever-action bb gun.
The DFS worker then informed Trout that “in no way was this an OK form of punishment.” Phelan told her that she was being arrested for child endangerment, and she was placed into custody and put into the officers’ vehicle.
It was decided that the children would be left in the care of their father, Michael Trout, who had not been home at the time of the incident. He is a truck driver and was out working at the time.
The mother was transported back to the sheriff’s office, where she was booked, read her Miranda rights and signed a form to signify she wanted to speak with officers. Phelan asked Trout to explain what had happened, and she reportedly broke down crying immediately and kept saying “I shot my babies. I’m a terrible mother. What type of mother would do that?”
Trout is being held in the Ozark County Jail without bond. She is charged with the following felonies: abuse of a child, two counts of endangering the welfare of a child, two counts of armed criminal action and two counts of domestic assault.
She was arraigned before Associate Judge Raymond Gross on April 21. A bond reduction hearing was set Tuesday, April 29. Details of the hearing were not available at presstime. Public defender Chase Opolka has filed as her legal counsel.