Reports of Unintended Gun Violence Collected from Media Reports Across the United States
An 11-year old and a 12-year old were involved in gun accidents today. In Lake County, Florida, 12-year old Jeremyah Wyatt found an unsecured gun in his home and accidentally shot and killed himself. “This is that one of those calls that deputies don’t want to ever go to — and paramedics. No one wants …
During a police action in Taft, Texas, a woman was accidentally shot by police. She was taken to the hospital and is in stable condition. According to the report, an identified man pointed a gun at police and then retreated into a home. The woman was injured when police then fired into the home. When …
A young child in Virginia Beach, Virginia found a loaded unsecured firearm today, picked it up and accidentally shot himself. The child’s age was not released. His injuries were not considered life-threatening. In Virginia, it is illegal for a person “to recklessly leave a loaded, unsecured firearm in such a manner as to endanger the …
In Evansville, Indiana, nine month old Iowa Meriweather was accidentally shot in the face and killed by her father. At the time of the shooting, the girl’s father was handling a friend’s gun that he had found in a couch while his friend was out of the room. The situation was initially complicated because the …
A 6-year old Cincinnati, Ohio child found a gun and shot himself while his mother slept. His mother, Darnasia McKinney, 26, was arrested and charged with felony child endangerment. The boy was hospitalized. No information about his condition is available. It is unclear how the boy will be cared for upon release from the hospital. …
Two people were injured today when guns were accidentally discharged. In each incident the victim was not in the room where the gun was fired. At John Wayne airport in Orange County, California, a sheriff’s deputy accidentally fired his service weapon at 7 AM this morning. The round penetrated a wall and hit an airport …
A three-year old in Springfield, Illinois apparently found a loaded unsecured firearm and shot himself. The child’s injuries are not believed to be life threatening. This gun accident occurred in the home of a relative who is not the child’s legal guardian. According to the report, the relative was the legally licensed owner of the …
In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1-year old Zykier Young was killed inside his home by a bullet fired outside. According to investigators, the shot traveled through a window and then two walls before hitting Zykier. A Pittsburgh police press release stated, “[w]ith a police sergeant driving, two police officers held the baby in the backseat and worked …
In Nyack, New York, two young men were fooling around with a gun in a car when it went off. Darien Brydie, a 21-year old Illinois man died after surgery at a local hospital. Collyer Goodman, an 18-year old from Valley Cottage, New York was arrested and charged with second degree manslaughter. “This appears to …
In San Angelo, Texas, another 2-year old was shot by a young sibling who had found a gun. It is unclear whether the injuries are life threatening. Police and the local child services agency are investigating. No arrests have been made. Source: “San Angelo Police Respond to an Accidental Shooting Incident Involving a 2-year Old …
In a tragic accident in Trenton, New Jersey, a long-time state employee was working on her front porch when she was shot and killed by a stray bullet. Vernetta McCray, 39, was an employee of New Jersey’s department of children and families. Phil Murphy, New Jersey’s governor praised McCray for her dedication and service. “This …
In separate incidents in the nation’s capital, an 8-year old girl and a 5-year old boy were struck and injured by gunfire. The news report also describes recent Washington, DC incidents in which 11-year old Davon McNeal and 17-year old Christopher Brown were struck and killed by gunfire. In each of these incidents, the victim …
A 14-year-old Columbus, Ohio boy shot himself in the hand in a gun accident today. He later told police he was handling “his handgun” when he accidentally shot himself. The boy’s mother was inside the house sleeping when the incident took place. In Ohio, a person must be over 21 to purchase a handgun, but …
Michelle Ansley, a 40-year old Thomson, Georgia woman was accidentally shot by a family member who was cleaning his gun. Ansley was shot in the leg and was taken to a hospital where she was later pronounced dead. Police are investigating, but gun cleaning accidents are common, especially with certain guns that lack basic safety …
Police in Shreveport, Louisiana are investigating an incident in which a five-year old child was accidentally shot in the leg. According to a report, the gun went off when the child jumped on a bed where the gun was placed. The child suffered non-life threatening injuries. Source: “Shreveport Police Investigate 2 Shootings Monday Night,” KTBS3 …
Continuing a string of horrific accidents involving Indiana children, a 9-year old South Bend boy was shot today, apparently by his older brother. Tre’von Barnett and a group of neighborhood kids were playing with a gun which went off. Responding police found Tre’von dead in the yard. Investigators are attempting to figure out how the …
In Charlotte, North Carolina, 2-year old Amor Cureton shot and killed himself with a loaded handgun in a motel. His father Antonio Cureton was arrested and charged with “involuntary manslaughter, two counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of a stolen firearm and failure to secure a firearm to protect a …
In Brentwood, NY, a town on Long Island, a police officer making an arrest shot at a dog that was charging at him. The gunshot killed the dog, but also struck the person being arrested in the wrist. That individual was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. This is the second incident this …
Allen Merrick, a freshman linebacker at the University of Alabama at Birmingham was killed in a gun accident today in Gadsden, Alabama. Little information is available other than a Gadsden police statement that the shooting was accidental. Merrick was just 19. Merrick was a standout athlete at Gadsden High School. He played in the Alabama-Mississippi …
In Orlando, Florida, 20-year old Deontay Haynes was arrested and charged with manslaughter after he accidentally shot and killed his best friend. The charge is a first degree felony with the potential for up to 30-years in prison. He is being held without bail. According to police, Haynes pointed a gun that he believed was …
In Ottumwa, Iowa, Brian Rainey, an off-duty deputy sheriff for the Mahaska County Sheriff’s Office was shot and killed in a gun accident. Authorities say he was shot in the torso. According to the Ottumwa police, the shooting was accidental. They have not said who fired the gun that killed Rainey. Other details of the …
A four-year old Gary, Indiana girl found a gun at 5:00 AM this morning and shot herself in the foot. She is hospitalized in stable condition. Police are investigating the incident as a gun accident and no arrests have been made. Source: David Struett, “Unattended 4-year-old Shoots Self in Foot in Gary: Police,” Chicago Sun …
Two children unintentionally shot and killed others while playing with guns today. Each gun accident involves two shattered lives. In Biloxi, Mississippi, a “deceased male … under the age of 18” was “hanging out at an apartment” with friends when a 13-year old, Jayden Kyshun Frazier, started showing off a gun and pointing it at …
For the second day in a row, a resident of Ohio was killed by a stray bullet. 64-year old Ellen Lakey of Columbus was inside her apartment when she was struck by a round fired in a gun fight outside. A neighbor said, “It happens over here all the time. No one cares until someone’s …
In Lorain, Ohio, Edward Suggs was struck and killed by a stray bullet while on the front porch of a local home. Several members of the Sophisticated Gents Motorcycle Club were gathered on the porch when they heard gunshots down the street. Mr. Suggs was attempting to get off the porch by entering the home …
Two children were killed in gun accidents in their homes today. In New Haven, Connecticut, an 8-year old was unintentionally shot in the head. Police concluded that the death was accidental, but did not provide specific information about the circumstances of the accident, including whether the child shot himself. They seized a loaded handgun , …
For the second time this week, a Los Angeles County police officer accidentally shot and injured another officer while responding to a problem involving the mental health of a resident. In this incident, the call involved a suicidal man armed with a pair of scissors. The responding officers apparently drew guns to fend off a …
Two children found guns in their homes and accidentally shot and killed themselves today. In Saginaw, Michigan, a five-year old boy found a gun. According to police, he died of “self-inflicted gunshot wounds.” They have called the incident a “tragic accident.” While they investigate to determine how the boy got ahold of the gun, “their …
In an incident that should trigger an investigation of police conduct, a Culver City, California police officer was accidentally shot by another officer while they were chasing a homeless man who allegedly was wielding a knife. In the incident, the homeless man was shot and killed. According to a report, the shooting occurred in mid-afternoon …
Two people were shot and wounded today in separate accidents caused by friends who were in possession of guns illegally. In Joplin Missouri, a 48-year old man was cleaning a stolen handgun and accidentally shot his girlfriend in the abdomen. She is currently hospitalized in stable condition. Police are investigating the theft. In Murray, Utah, …
In Pensacola, Florida, 7-year old Aniyah Nettles was shot and killed, likely by another small child. She was on her grandmother’s front porch at the time she was shot. Police continue to investigate and are not yet certain how the child who shot Aniyah got the gun. Source: Brianna Hollis, “State Attorney will Review Evidence …