Son Who Accidentally Shot Mother Avoids Homicide Conviction, Sentenced to Year in Jail for Gun Charge

On July 25, 2023, Alachua County Sheriff’s Office (ACSO) deputies responded to reports that Adrian Sjolund, 22, accidentally shot his mother.

When deputies arrived, they found Sjolund on the sidewalk clutching his 49-year-old mother, Tatjana Omanovic, where she was later pronounced dead. Sjolund told deputies he accidentally shot his mom.

The only other people home at the time of the incident were Sjolund’s younger brother and Omanovic’s mother-in-law (L.D.), who owned the residence.

Sjolund and Omanovic are from California but were visiting Florida to help L.D. around her house. Omanovic and her son went to a storage unit to clear out numerous items owned by L.D., which included several firearms.

Deputy Joseph Thomas reported, “Inside the residence, encased rifles were observed lying on the ground. Two open handgun cases were observed. One 1911 (handgun) was unloaded and resting within a case. The other handgun is a 1911 Springfield 45 caliber pistol, which was located lying on the floor next to a case. A spent .45 shell casing was observed on the ground. The handgun had a magazine seated…. It is believed that Tatjana Omanovic was standing on the front sidewalk of the residence at the time when she was shot by her son, who was inside the residence on the other side of the closed front door. The residence is raised off the ground by several feet, and the shot entered the bottom of the interior portion of the front door about 3 inches above the ground. The shot bullet exited out the front of the door, striking [Omanovic] in the back, killing her.”

L.D. told police she was on the back porch with her grandson when she heard a gunshot and Sjolund screaming for someone to call 911. L.D. felt Omanovic’s arm and didn’t feel a pulse.

Before interviewing Sjolund, Detective Christopher Weitzel received a call from Sjolund’s stepdad, who was out of state. Sjolund’s stepdad told police he saw Sjolund post a Snapchat story earlier that day showing himself holding two handguns with the caption “Hollow tips for breakfast.”

The sworn complaint states, “Sjolund indicated that while removing the firearms from the storage, he brought them inside the home. He indicated there were cases already at the residence that were empty, and these firearms were simply resting in a cardboard box. Sjolund indicated that he was not very familiar with firearms and that he was attempting to make the guns safe, ensuring they were empty. He indicated he was removing the magazine and attempting to place the firearm on safe when he dropped the pistol and it discharged. He observed his mother fall to the ground outside the home. He alerted L.D. and went to his mother's aid. Sjolund demonstrated by being in a crouching position, indicating he was facing the closet, the muzzle of the firearm pointed in the direction of the front door, an area his mother had just exited. Sjolund indicated at no point did he load any firearms, and his purpose was only to unload [the] guns. Sjolund was then asked about the photo he posted on Snapchat. He indicated that he was not threatening when he posted it and had just done so as he has friends who like guns. Sjolund did become inconsistent when this photo was taken. He first indicated it occurred at the storage unit and then later stated it was taken while he was at the house, ultimately indicating it happened at the storage unit. Aside from the magazine photo, Sjolund denied having taken any videos or pictures of firearms, other than a photo of the gun closet itself.”

Deputies determined Sjolund likely took the photo in the storage unit based on the timeframe.

At the time of the incident, Sjolund had a restraining order in the State of California, which ordered that he could not possess firearms. The order would still be active in the State of Florida.

Deputies believed a Springfield 1911 produced the fatal shot. The firearm had similar wear marks to the gun held by Sjolund on Snapchat.

The sworn complaint states, “The top round in the Snapchat photo is a hollow point round; this was the same type recovered at autopsy from the victim. Given the previously mentioned timestamp from Snapchat, this magazine within 39 minutes of the initial 911 call would have been placed within the handgun and the handgun would have been charged, loading the top hollow-point bullet into this gun. From previous statements from Sjolund, he indicated he was only handling firearms to unload them; there is no reason this magazine would have been placed within this gun and then charged.”

Deputies obtained a search warrant for Sjolund’s phone, which revealed several videos of him playfully holding a firearm. In one video, Sjolund says, “It's not like it's loaded or anything.” In another video, Sjolund clicks the trigger and sarcastically states, “So scary.”

On July 28, 2023, Sjolund did a follow-up interview with his lawyer at ACSO.

The sworn complaint states, “While speaking to him on this date, it was explained that a magazine he had posted a picture of was the same magazine found within the gun. Sjolund could not explain how this occurred. It was confirmed to his knowledge he was the only person handling the guns and would have found it unlikely the deceased would have randomly loaded a gun during the process of him moving property to the vehicle from the storage unit.”

On October 31, 2023, an autopsy confirmed Omanovic was killed accidentally after a bullet entered her back.

On December 15, 2023, Thomas received a report from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) that positively compared the bullet recovered from Omanovic’s body to the Springfield firearm. Sjolund was charged with negligent homicide and possessing a firearm against an injunction.

On March 5, 2024, the State Attorney’s Office dropped Sjolund’s charge of negligent homicide but pursued his illegal firearm possession charge.

Two of Sjolund’s family members wrote letters of support for him.

On February 10, 2025, as part of a plea deal, Sjolund pleaded no contest and was found guilty of possessing a firearm in violation of an injunction, receiving a sentence of 364 days in jail.