Crime & Safety
4-year-old Tampa Girl Dies Of Accidental Gunshot
Nelly Zoller was looking into her grandmother's purse and found a gun. The 4-year-old girl accidentally shot herself in the chest.
TAMPA, FL - Nelly Marie Christine Zoller was digging into her grandmother’s purse last week, looking for candy. The 4-year-old found a gun. Her funeral will be held Thursday at Sunset Funeral Home in Thonotosassa.
Nelly’s obit could be the description of any 4-year-old girl: “Nelly loved playing with her puppy, watching Shimmer & Shine, playing at the Splash Pad in Tampa, jumping on the couch and doing her make up.”
Tampa police gave this report of the incident: “On Sept. 14, sometime before 2:22 p.m., Yanelly Zoller, 4 year old female (1/12/2013), reportedly found a firearm in her grandmother’s purse and accidentally shot herself. The grandmother, Christie Zoller, and grandfather, Michael Zoller, were at home with the child at the time.”
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Her given name was Yanelly, but everyone called her Nelly. “Left to cherish her memory are her parents, Shane and Lisette; brothers, Liam Zoller and Noah Banksdon; paternal grandparents, Michael and Christie Zoller; and maternal grandmother, Cindy Villareal,” the obit says.
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There will be a visitation on Thursday from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Sunset Funeral Home, 11005 N. U.S. Highway 301, Thonotosassa. Funeral services will begin at 1 p.m. followed by interment in Sunset Memory Gardens.
Her father told the Tampa Bay Times that she was searching for candy in her grandmother’s purse. She was shot in the chest.
"I was driving to pick her up with her bathing suit in my car to take her to the splash pads," Shane Zoller told the Times. "When I pulled up, that's when I saw all the police lights."
The family is raising money for Nelly's funeral costs on GoFundMe.com and You Caring.com. The GoFundMe account had raised $1,485 on Thursday morning. The goal is $5,000.
Read the full story here in the Times.
Photo via GoFundMe.com
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