Fla. mom under fire for posting message on Twitter shortly after her son drowns

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Fla. mom under fire for tweet after son’s death

MERRITT ISLAND, Fla. — A Florida mother is being criticized by bloggers and Twitter users for posting a tweet less than an hour after her 2-year-old son drowned in a swimming pool at her home.

Shellie Ross, a 38-year-old stay-at-home mother who lives outside Patrick Air Force Base where her husband serves, posted a message asking that people pray for her son after he had fallen into the family’s swimming pool on Monday. Her son, Bryson, died at a hospital less than an hour after paramedics responded.

Ross has more than 5,000 followers on her Twitter account, Military_Mom, and she also maintains a blog, Blog4Mom.

Since the tweet, Ross has been criticized for taking the time to send out the message.

“I wish we could start a donation in Bryson Ross’s name to sue his mother for negligence,” one blogger, Madison McGraw, wrote Thursday.

The Brevard County Sheriff’s Office doesn’t plan to file any charges against Ross since it doesn’t appear to be a case of negligence, said Sgt. Allie Roberts.

The tweet “really has no bearing on anything,” Roberts said. “Her Twittering doesn’t make a difference.”

Some of Ross’ Twitter followers have been quick to defend her. One follower, Portia, wrote, “Sorry for your loss. My son almost drowned 3½ years ago. Very blessed he survived. Easy for people to judge. Stay strong.”

Ross has since removed the tweet from her account.

On her blog, Ross has asked media outlets to leave her alone and said she won’t comment on what happened.

“Those who do not know me, us our family: Find a hobby, get a job, get a clue please,” she wrote on the blog. “Stop slandering my name, stop disrespecting my son and husband with your pitiful pathetic mouths.”