Man shoots random mom at Walmart in both of her ankles as she was shopping with her 'small children': Police

Inset: John Eady (Valdosta Police Department). Background: The Walmart in Georgia where a mother was allegedly shot in both ankles by John Eady (Google Maps).

A Georgia mom shopping at Walmart with her "small children" was shredded by bullet shrapnel in both ankles after a man with a pistol in the front pocket of his "basketball-style" shorts "inadvertently" set the gun off, cops say.

John Eady, 21, was inside a Walmart in Valdosta when the firearm he was carrying on June 9 "inadvertently discharged into the ground" as he was reaching for his cellphone, according to the Valdosta Police Department.

"[Eady] was carrying a firearm in the front pocket of his basketball-style shorts," the department says in a press release posted on Facebook. "Eady did not have the gun in any type of holster, and his cellphone was in the same pocket."

When Eady reached into his pocket for his cellphone, police say the firearm was "inadvertently discharged into the ground" and "shrapnel from the bullet and the tiles from the flooring" struck a 34-year-old mother in the ankles.

"Preliminary information indicates that one shopper sustained a gunshot wound to her lower leg," according to VPD officials.

The woman was treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

"Officers determined that Eady was carrying the firearm in a manner that was a gross deviation from the standard of care that a reasonable person would have exercised in a similar situation," the police department says.

"We are very thankful that no one received more severe injuries, as the victim was shopping with her small children," adds VPD Chief Leslie Manahan in a statement. "This serves as a reminder that carrying a firearm is a significant responsibility. Firearms should be carried in a secure holster or in another secure manner to prevent unintentional contact with the trigger, reducing the risk of an unintended discharge."

Authorities obtained an arrest warrant for Eady on June 10. He turned himself in and was charged with one misdemeanor count of reckless conduct.

Eady was being held at the Lowndes County Jail.