Three-year old Keegan Vasquez shot himself in the face with a .25 caliber pistol he found on a TV stand in his great-grandmother’s home. The Callaghan County, Texas boy was taken to a hospital in Fort Worth, where he later died. The boy’s great-grandmother said that she had forgotten that the gun was there. The …
Month: January 2020
Adult Arrested Alabama Child Death (18 and Under) Child Injury (18 and Under) Child Under 18 (as Shooter) Ongoing Investigation Pennsylvania Utah
THURSDAY, JANUARY 30, 2020
Four young children accidentally shot themselves today with found guns in separate incidents. Two are dead. Two are hospitalized. In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania a four-year old found a Glock pistol in a closet and shot himself in the head in his bedroom. His three-year old brother was in the room at the time. Police say the …
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 29, 2020
A 10-year old St. Louis, Missouri boy found a gun outside his apartment building, brought it inside and accidentally shot himself in the leg. The gun had earlier been stolen in Springfield, Missouri according to police. Source: “Boy, 10, Accidentally Shot Himself With Stolen Gun He Found Outside, Police Say,” KMOV4 (January 30, 2020).
TUESDAY, JANUARY 28, 2020
An unidentified man died today after accidentally shooting himself while in line at the Supreme Bean coffee shop in Spokane, Washington. No further information about the accident has been reported. An investigation is ongoing. On the other side of the country, in Cedartown, Georgia, at Zorba’s restaurant, a man accidentally shot himself in the parking …
MONDAY, JANUARY 27, 2020
In Byesville, Ohio, 37-year old David Wray was charged as: “a parent, guardian, custodian, person having custody or control, or person in loco parentis of a child under 18 years of age, who did create a substantial risk of the health or safety of an unidentified child, by violating a duty of care, protection or …
SUNDAY, JANUARY 26, 2020
In another fatal gun accident involving a child in Pataskala, Ohio, a town of less than 16,000 people near Columbus (see December 14, 2019), 15-year old Noah Bigham shot and killed his best friend, Hunter Cooper, a high school freshman, while attempting to distract him from playing a video game. Noah was using the laser …
SATURDAY, JANUARY 25, 2020
3-year old Amir Antoine of Baton Rouge, Louisiana shot and killed himself Saturday morning in his home. He was handling a gun and accidentally pulled the trigger. This was the second accidental shooting in the Antoine home in the last four years. In 2016, 17-year-old Ahmad Antoine was charged with negligent homicide after he accidentally …
Adult Injury Child Injury (18 and Under) Child Under 18 (as Shooter) Florida Mississippi North Carolina Ohio Ongoing Investigation Wyoming
FRIDAY, JANUARY 24, 2020
Of eight reports of accidental shootings today, involving a total of 11 shooting incidents, three occurred in Ohio, one each in Mississippi, Wyoming, Florida, North Carolina and Virginia. None of the 11 shootings was fatal. Two of the incidents involved accidental self-inflicted shootings, three involved young children shot accidentally by others, three involved women apparently …
THURSDAY, JANUARY 23, 2020
In Prestonburg, Kentucky, a messenger for an armored car service was shot when his gun accidentally discharged while he was making a drop at a Big Lots store in a strip mall. “His weapon became lodged between himself and items he was carrying,” according to Prestonburg police detective Ross Shurtleff. “While it was lodged between …
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 22, 2020
A 57-year old Hackensack, New Jersey man was placing his Smith & Wesson .45-caliber handgun on his nightstand as part of his preparation for bedtime when it accidentally fired. The victim was struck in the abdomen. He remains in critical condition with severe internal injuries. “We are doing our due diligence, as always, in investigating,” …
TUESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2020
According to authorities, a 17-year old Charlestown, West Virginia teen shot himself in the arm today while cleaning his gun. No charges will be filed. Source: Bailey Pace, “Teen Accidentally Shoots Himself According to Sheriff Dept.,” WVVA (January 21, 2020).
MONDAY, JANUARY 20, 2020
A bullet accidentally fired in Chesterton, Indiana, near Gary, passed through two adjoining apartments and narrowly missed a three-year old child. According to a police report, Samuel Duley, a 22-year old, was cleaning his rifle inside the apartment building when it went off. He had removed the gun’s ammunition clip, but “he must have spaced …
SUNDAY, JANUARY 19, 2020
In Bloomington, Indiana, both four-year old Tripp Shaw and his father, Tyler, were shot in the head after the father’s gun accidentally discharged. After several days in the hospital, Tripp died of his wounds. His father was expected to recover. According to authorities, the father and son were play-wrestling on a bed when a gun …
SATURDAY, JANUARY 18, 2020
In Allentown, Pennsylvania, an accidentally discharged round passed through the shooter’s bedroom door, across a hallway and through another door where it struck 52-year old Virgen Milagros Rivera, who was critically injured. The shooter, who was found to have negligently handled the firearm, was charged with aggravated assault, simple assault and reckless endangerment. He was …
FRIDAY, JANUARY 17, 2020
At Three Fires Elementary School in Howell, Michigan, a father accidentally discharged his gun in his vehicle while waiting to pick up his child. The initial investigation showed no criminal intent, though the school was placed on lockdown at the time of the shooting. The man shot himself in the hand and leg. He was …
THURSDAY, JANUARY 16, 2020
Providence, Rhode Island police found 22-year old Edward Rodriquez in a hallway in his apartment building at 16 What Cheer Avenue, without pants, with a gunshot wound to his scrotum. Martinez said that he had been handling a gun on his bed when it fired. According to police, no charges will be filed. Mr. Martinez …
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2020
In Fort Lauderdale, Florida, an 8-year old found his father’s loaded handgun when his father left him alone briefly in the car while shopping. The boy shot himself in the leg. He was taken to the hospital with serious injuries. Just over a month ago, a Fort Lauderdale toddler also found his father’s loaded handgun …
TUESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2020
19-year old Cesar Cortes was accidentally shot and killed today at Bellaire High School, just outside of Houston, Texas. The shooter was his 16-year old friend, a boy who has not been identified because of his age. According to authorities, both the shooter and Cortes were members of the High School’s JROTC program. The younger …
MONDAY, JANUARY 13, 2020
According to a Riverside, Ohio police sergeant, “a 3-year-old got ahold of his father’s weapon and accidentally shot himself in the leg.” The boy found the gun in a bedroom and brought it to the living room where he was playing with it when it went off. The boy’s father was home at the time. …
SUNDAY, JANUARY 12, 2020
In separate incidents in different parts of the country, two women were struck by stray gunfire while walking on the street. In Detroit Michigan, a woman walked to the hospital, where she was found to be in serious condition, after being hit by a bullet along Crusade Street near Liberal. Police said she was struck …
SATURDAY, JANUARY 11, 2020
41-year old Brian McManemy of Blairstown, Iowa was shot in the leg when one of the guns in the vehicle in which he was riding discharged. He was transported to a Cedar Rapids hospital. Mr. McManemy was coyote hunting at the time of the accident. He was a passenger in a vehicle driving through a …
FRIDAY, JANUARY 10, 2020
Bronson Reed, a 45-year old father in Soddy Daisy, Tennessee was cleaning a 9-mm pistol in his home when it went off unexpectedly. The bullet struck Reed in the leg and then hit his seven-year old son. At the time the story was reported, the child remained hospitalized. An investigation is ongoing. Source: Ken Nicholson …
THURSDAY, JANUARY 9, 2020
A 19-year old Clifton Park, New York woman, Kylee L. Stark, was charged with first degree reckless endangerment after accidentally discharging a shotgun inside her apartment while taking pictures of herself on her cell phone. There were no injuries. Ms. Stark was arraigned in Halfmoon Town Court and was released on her own recognizance. Source: …
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 8, 2020
20-year old Gregory Lee Miller, Jr. of Lexington Kentucky died today of a gunshot wound. 25-year old Jaquan St. Louis has been arrested and charged with reckless homicide. According to police, St. Louis believed the gun was unloaded when he pointed it at Miller. Source: “Arrest Made in Lexington’s First Homicide of 2020, Victim Identified,” …
TUESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2020
A Daytona Beach, Florida woman, Lauren Sherriffs, was arrested and charged with child abuse after a minor in her care shot himself in the foot with a .40-caliber handgun. The boy found the gun in a closet and was attempting to unload the gun went it off. Initially, the boy told police that he was …
MONDAY, JANUARY 6, 2020
A 20 year-old Rio Communities, New Mexico man was airlifted to the hospital after suffering injuries from a close range shotgun blast in his own home. The round was fired by the man’s 12-year old brother. The shooting was found to be “negligent/accidental in nature.” The New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department was notified. …
SUNDAY, JANUARY 5, 2020
Gringo Tacos + Burgers Restaurant In St. Louis, Missouri closed early on Sunday after an employee of the restaurant accidentally shot and killed himself while changing clothes in the bathroom. Police said the shooting is not suspicious. It is unclear whether the restaurant prohibited guns on the premises. Employees declined to comment, stating that the …
SATURDAY, JANUARY 4, 2020
An Anderson County, South Carolina man accidentally shot himself in the lower leg while unloading his handgun in the parking lot outside a gun show. The show does not allow loaded guns on the premises. The man was taken to the hospital for treatment. Source: Grant Garland, “Man Accidentally Shoots Himself at Gun Show in …
FRIDAY, JANUARY 3, 2020
The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources reported today that there were 11 hunting accidents across the state in 2019, including two that resulted in deaths. The year 2020, however, started badly when hunter Kim Drawdy and his 9-year old daughter were mistaken for deer on New Years day and accidentally shot by other hunters. …
THURSDAY, JANUARY 2, 2020
An accidental shooting on Long Island, New York today was blamed for one injury and a multi-vehicle crash that injured four others. A 25-year old Plainview man was cleaning a firearm in his home when it discharged, hitting a 17 year-old who was with him in the neck. As the 25-year old rushed the teen …
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 1, 2020
As the clock struck midnight on New Years eve, 61-year old Philippa Ashford was struck and killed by a stray bullet in Harris County, Texas. Police believe that the round was fired in celebration of the new year by an unidentified person in the neighborhood. The shooter was not a member of Ms. Ashford’s family. …