By Joe Baker

An accident involving a handgun took the life of a two-year-old girl in Panna Maria Friday evening.

According to information from the sheriff’s office and DPS, Panna Maria resident Jason Jansky (25) was taking apart a handgun around 6 p.m. when the accident happened.

Earlier in the day Jansky had learned how to take the gun apart and put it back together and he was showing his wife Jennifer how to take the gun apart. At the time, the Jansky’s two-year-old daughter Neveah was playing a video game in the same room just a few feet away from her parents.

The gun discharged and a single bullet entered the child in the neck and exited through her upper torso.

Karnes County Sheriff David Jalufka said that the 911 call was placed Friday at 6:05 p.m. The call reported a shooting at the location on FM 81 in Panna Maria.

"At that point, EMS, deputies and everybody was activated and they started moving," Jalufka said.

Shortly after emergency personnel started moving toward the scene, the sheriff’s office received a call letting them know that the girl’s father was driving her to Otto Kaiser Memorial Hospital.

The sheriff and other law-enforcement officers met Jansky at the hospital. Justice of the Peace Gilbert Garza was also there.

"Everybody moved fast," Jalufka explained.

The sheriff said that Jansky, his wife and her uncle were at the hospital together.

Later that evening, the girl was pronounced dead.

The sheriff immediately called in the Texas Rangers to begin the investigation, which is a normal procedure for shooting incidents of this kind.

"They (the Texas Rangers) have better equipment and techniques," Jalufka explained.

"I got a hold of Clete Buckaloo who is the Ranger captain. He in turn sent me Troy Wilson, Chance Collins and Lieutenant Hank Whitman."

The sheriff and the Rangers sat down to talk with the girl’s father who explained what had happened. Earlier that day he had visited a web site and learned how to take apart and put back together the handgun. He was showing his wife how to put the gun together. The gun, a Glock 17 nine-millimeter handgun, was a gift that Jansky had received from his father about two months ago.

"He took it apart and put it back together and loaded up the clip… He was showing her… and it was loaded," Jalufka said. "It squeezed off a round…."

The sheriff said that it remains uncertain whether or not the girl’s father knew the gun was loaded at the time of the accident.

The type of gun involved was less safe than other firearms, the sheriff said.

"You pull the trigger to release the slide down just a fraction of an inch," Jalufka explained.

"I don’t like Glocks for one reason – ‘cause they don’t have a hammer." Jalufka said. "I’m old school – I like to see that hammer. If the hammer’s cocked, it’s cocked," he explained noting that with other types of guns it’s easier to tell when the gun is ready to fire.

The sheriff said Jansky was very thorough in his explanation of what happened that evening. On Saturday, the girl’s mother was interviewed by the Texas Rangers.

An autopsy was performed Saturday at 1 p.m.

Neither Jansky nor his wife was arrested or charged with a crime, but the sheriff said that the evidence would be presented to the Grand Jury who would then decide whether or not criminal charges would be filed.

The next Karnes County Grand Jury will convene in early August.

Texas Ranger Troy Wilson, who is the lead investigator on the case, told The Countywide on Tuesday that the investigation of the accident is ongoing.

Funeral services for Neveah Jansky were held Monday at the First Baptist Church in Karnes City. See related obituary in this newspaper.