A 29-year-old mother was shot and killed in Walmart after her 2-year-old son reached into her purse and accidentally discharged her concealed handgun on Tuesday.

The tragic incident occurred at around 10:20 a.m. MT as Veronica J. Rutledge of Blackfoot, Idaho, was shopping at an Idaho Walmart in Coeur d'Alene with her son and three other children, The Associated Press reports. Officials say the toddler was sitting in a shopping cart when he reached into his mother's handbag, causing the weapon to go off one time.

Rutledge was dead by the time authorities arrived on the scene.

"It appears to be a pretty tragic accident," said Kootenai County Sheriff's Office spokesman Lt. Stu Miller.

According to CNN, Miller said Rutledge took "several" of her children to Walmart for post-holiday shopping.

"The child looks like to be sitting in the shopping cart with the purse while the female victim was shopping," he explained.

Rutledge had traveled to Hayden, about 400 miles northwest of Blackfoot, to visit relatives for the holidays, Miller said, adding that she obtained a concealed-weapons permit in Spokane, Washington.

The victim's father-in-law, Terry Rutledge, described her as "a beautiful, young, loving mother." He added that "she was not the least bit irresponsible."

"She was taken much too soon," Terry said.

Terry said Rutledge had taken her son and nieces to the store so that they could use gift cards.

The Wal-Mart, which is located in Hayden, about 40 miles northeast of Spokane, was closed following the incident and was not expected to reopen until Wednesday morning.

"A very sad incident occurred at our store today involving the death of a female customer," said Brooke Buchanan, a spokeswoman for Wal-Mart, reports USA Today. "We are fully cooperating with the Kootenai County Sheriff's deputies as they investigate this matter."

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