In Indian Head, Maryland, police are investigating a gun accident in which a 12-year old boy was accidentally killed. He and a 13-year old relative were playing with a gun in a bedroom when the gun “discharged.” It is unclear how the boys came into possession of the gun. “This is such a tragic situation …
Month: July 2020
THURSDAY, JULY 30, 2020
In Pasco, Washington, a man using his gun for self-defense in his home accidentally shot himself in the calf and may require surgery. According to the report, the man heard a noise that he thought was a burglar. He was walking with a handgun when it accidentally discharged. Source: Monica Petruzzelli, “Pasco Man Accidentally Shoots …
WEDNESDAY, JULY 29, 2020
A two-year old girl who was caught in the crossfire when shots were fired is dead. A girl the police identified only as “Jo Jo” was in a car in Hammond, Indiana with her mother when the incident occurred. Jo Jo’s mother was unharmed. According to police, neither Jo Jo nor her mother had a …
Adult Arrested Adult Death Child Death (18 and Under) Child Under 18 (as Shooter) Georgia Hawaii Ongoing Investigation Tennessee
TUESDAY, JULY 28, 2020
Two more children died this week in gun accidents that might have been prevented by safe storage laws. Also today, a popular former North Carolina law enforcement officer died while working in Hawaii when a rifle accidentally fired inside a police station. In Memphis, Tennessee, a 14-year old girl died when a boy was handing her …
MONDAY, JULY 27, 2020
In Arizona, state law prohibits anyone other than a law enforcement officer from carrying a gun on school grounds. In Tucson today, 40-year old Noel Watts, a roofing contractor, accidentally shot himself in the leg with a handgun while working on the roof of Canyon Del Oro High School. Police administered a tourniquet and transported …
SUNDAY, JULY 26, 2020
20-year old Jazmine Feliciana of Mobile, Alabama was playing with a gun inside an apartment when she accidentally shot an apparently unrelated child. Police responded to the incident at the hospital, spoke to the child’s mother, and later arrested Ms. Feliciana. Source: “Police: Woman Playing With Gun Shoots Child,” WKRG 5 (July 26, 2020).
SATURDAY, JULY 25, 2020
A two-year old boy died in a gun accident Saturday night in Graniteville, South Carolina. He “accessed a handgun and shot himself” according to a news report. Deputies arriving at the scene “observed a complainant sitting on the ground in the roadway holding her 2-year-old son, Jamarious Rogers, in her arms.” He later died at …
FRIDAY, JULY 24, 2020
In yet another incident involving an Indiana child, a 2-year old found a gun at home and was shot in the arm. According to police, there was an adult in the home at the time. Others left the apartment before police arrived. The child is in serious but stable condition. Source: “IMPD Investigating 2-year-old Shot …
THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2020
In Caribou, Maine, two brothers were arguing when a third person intervened and showed a handgun, possibly in an effort to stop the fight. When one of the brothers took the handgun and attempted to make it safe, the gun discharged and he was shot in the foot, according to local police. The man was …
WEDNESDAY, JULY 22, 2020
In Idaho Falls, Idaho, a teenager accidentally shot and injured himself with a gun he found in a local canal. The Sheriff’s Office says a 16-year-old and 14-year-old were handling a gun when it accidentally fired, hitting the 14-year old. He was taken to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries. A statement issued by …
TUESDAY, JULY 21, 2020
A Laramie, Wyoming 14-year old has been arrested and charged with manslaughter after an incident in which he killed a 13-year old. Although the details remain murky, comments on the Laramie police department’s Facebook page by relatives and others suggest that the children were playing with a gun while drinking in the park. It is …
MONDAY, JULY 20, 2020
A three-year old Arlington, Texas boy died today in yet another tragic gun cleaning accident. According to police, an “adult relative” was cleaning a gun when it fired and shot both the boy and the person who had been cleaning the gun. That person suffered non-life threatening injuries. The toddler died at the hospital. No …
SUNDAY, JULY 19, 2020
In LaGrange, Georgia, 22-year old Haley Newsom was shot in the head and killed in an apparent gun accident on Sunday. According to a statement issued by the Troup County Sheriff’s Office: “After speaking with witnesses in the home, investigators have determined that the following occurred. A 17-year-old white male identified as Cameryn Phillips was …
SATURDAY, JULY 18, 2020
Cleveland, Ohio police are investigating after an incident in which a 9-year old boy was accidentally shot by his stepfather. The boy was shot in the hand and upper leg. Records show that several days later, the stepfather, 37-year old Zachary Stover, was charged with “child endangering.” Court filings say that he was picking a …
FRIDAY, JULY 17, 2020
In a continuing pandemic of gun violence in Chicago, 11 people were killed and 59 were injured in gun violence this weekend. One of the victims shot himself in the head, in an apparent gun accident, as he was showing off his gun via social media. The 25-year old is in “grave” condition at a …
THURSDAY, JULY 16, 2020
For the third day in a row, a young child was killed in a gun accident. In Commerce City, Colorado, a three-year old boy was found shot to death in an incident that involved “mishandling” of a gun. Two siblings, ages 12 and 13, were present in the home at the time of the incident, …
WEDNESDAY, JULY 15, 2020
A local new story in St. Louis begins, “[a]nother child has been killed by a gun, this time a 6-year-old … St. Louis Police are not releasing much information.” It is at least the tenth death of a child in or around St. Louis since the beginning of the year. According to the report, a caller …
TUESDAY, JULY 14, 2020
In a gun accident in Rochelle, Georgia, a four-year old girl was shot and killed. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation found that “the child was shot while she and her 3-year-old brother were playing with a gun.” The GBI found that the gun was unsecured. The girl’s father, Johnny Lee Kellom, was arrested after the …
MONDAY, JULY 13, 2020
In a gun accident that occurred in Aurora, Colorado, one of two men playing with a gun was shot in the chest and killed. Although police acknowledge that they do not know who pulled the trigger, they arrested the survivor, 38-year old Abdiel Vigil, at the scene and charged him with manslaughter. Source: Sam Tabachnik, …
SUNDAY, JULY 12, 2020
There were two gun accidents involving AR-15 style rifles today, each illustrating a combat-designed purpose of the weapon. In the first incident, a Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania man was sleeping in a chair in a wooded area by a pond when he was accidentally shot with a small caliber round fired by one of two men …
SATURDAY, JULY 11, 2020
In a Detroit, Michigan accident, a 13-year old boy died when he mishandled a gun. There were no adults home at the time, but another child was present. It is unclear how the boy gained access to the gun. Source: Dane Kelly, “13-year-old Boy Killed in Accidental Shooting on Detroit’s West Side,” Click on Detroit …
FRIDAY, JULY 10, 2020
In Anderson County, South Carolina, a woman who was legally carrying a firearm shot herself in the hip as she was entering the Dollar General store. According to the Sheriff’s office, the gun accidentally discharged while inside her purse. The woman was the only one injured in the accident. She was flown to the hospital …
THURSDAY, JULY 9, 2020
A 14-year old St. George, Utah girl was shot and killed today during a gathering with other teenagers. According to an affidavit, the suspect, Anthony Vega, an 18-year old, was playing with [a] handgun, pointing it at several individuals while pulling the trigger. A juvenile witness also admitted that the individuals at the home, including …
WEDNESDAY, JULY 8, 2020
A ten-year old boy is in stable condition after an accidental shooting in Brooklyn, New York. He and another boy were playing with a gun when it went off. There is no additional information available. This gun accident may have been largely ignored in the press in light of a long violent holiday weekend in …
CHILDREN AND GUNS
Criminalizing the Negligence of Caregivers May Let Manufacturers Off the Hook It is quite clear from any rational child safety perspective that manufacturers should be discouraged or prevented from designing guns that children can easily fire. Better designs can be achieved with effective external manual safeties, magazine safety disconnects, heavier trigger pulls or trigger designs …
TUESDAY, JULY 7, 2020
A 14-year old boy in Modesto California was airlifted to the hospital after a gun accident in his home. The boy was conscious and alert and the wound is not considered life threatening. No information was available on the circumstances of the accident at the time of the report. According to Everytown for Gun Safety, …
MONDAY, JULY 6, 2020
In separate incidents, two young children found unsecured handguns today and accidentally shot and injured a sibling. In Beulaville, North Carolina, a 6-year old girl found a handgun in her home and shot her 12-year old sister in the back. The 12-year old is at the hospital in critical condition. An 18-year old was charged …
SUNDAY, JULY 5, 2020
In Evansville, Indiana, 16-year old Rylan Conway was shot to death in an incident that occurred in a home where a group of kids were playing with a gun. The shooter, 19-year old Eriyon Gibson, says he unloaded the gun, then pointed it at Conway while they were joking around. He asserts he wouldn’t have …
SATURDAY, JULY 4, 2020
On American Independence day, Paulette Thorpe, a 74-year old Durham, North Carolina resident was struck and killed by celebratory gunfire. According to police, Thorpe was “hit by a stray bullet that someone fired into the air.” “We were just talking, I was talking to her, we were all conversating, when all of sudden out of …
FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2020
An unidentified person was accidentally shot in Dayton, Ohio today. “I just accidentally shot somebody please get down here. Please, it was an accident, it was an accident” a man who called 911 said. … “I’m going to jail, I’m going to jail.” One person was shot, but there was no information about the person’s …
THURSDAY, JULY 2, 2020
In Hendersonville, Tennessee John Robert Moore, a two-year old boy, found an unattended loaded handgun in his father’s car and shot himself. His father was a volunteer firefighter and the two were visiting the Shackle Island fire station at the time of the accident. “Everybody loved that little boy,” said Martin Bowers, fire chief for …
WEDNESDAY, JULY 1, 2020
In an accident reminiscent of the journal entry just two days ago on June 29, two men were showing each other their guns today when one of the guns went off. A 30-year old Macon, Georgia man, Westley Faulks, was killed. The shooter, 28-year old Tevin Pleas, “thought he’d cleared his weapon to show Faulks …