In Richmond, Virginia, 19-year-old Chynekqua Walker was arrested and charged with reckless handling of a firearm after shooting her 15-year old brother in the shoulder in their home.  According to a report “she thought that she was handling a BB gun when she accidentally shot her brother… with a real gun.”

It was the fourth time in recent weeks that a central Virginia child was injured or killed by gunfire.  “COVID-19 has not caused what’s happening, but it has exacerbated factors that increase violence,” an expert in adolescent psychiatry said after the incident. “For example: lack of structure, there’s no school, the social distancing and isolation, creates more tension in the home where they normally would get along.”

Source:

Jon Burkett, “Spate of Teenage Gun Violence in Central Virginia Concerns Mental Health Expert,” 6 News Richmond (May 1, 2020).