In Richmond, Indiana, a four-year old child was flown to a Dayton, Ohio hospital after suffering an accidental gunshot wound. Police arrested 23-year-old Khylier Childress-Shelby and preliminarily charged him with possession of a handgun without a license and neglect of a dependent. Although the charges are consistent with an incident in which the child found …
Month: December 2020
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2020
In Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, Richard James Russell was arrested for mishandling a gun after he accidentally shot his 21-year old son in the abdomen. Mr. Russell was showing the gun to his son at the time of the accident. Police also said that Russell initially misled them by claiming that his son had been shot …
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2020
In Woodbridge, Virginia, Kaitlyn Marie Roulten Ellis, a 29-year old mother of two, was arrested after she negligently discharged a gun while caring for her two daughters, a 1-month old and a four-year old. Ms. Roulten Ellis was handling a gun when it discharged and struck her in the arm. She was arrested after being …
MONDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2020
In Denver, Colorado, a four-year old girl sitting in a parked car was critically injured when a nearby dispute about a car improperly parked in a handicapped space resulted in gunfire. According to police, the girl “was caught in the crossfire when the suspect left a business and started shooting at another man taking pictures …
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2020
A teenage girl attending a party at the Moon Rocks recreation area in Nevada was struck by a stray bullet. The 17-year old is recovering after being struck in the leg. The sheriff’s office said it is believed somebody at the party fired a weapon into the dark not knowing the victim was in the …
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2020
In what appears to be the third gun accident involving a San Antonio, Texas teenager this month, a 16-year old accidentally shot himself in the head. Two teenagers were playing with an AR-15 at the time of the accident, believing it to be unloaded. The boy was taken to the hospital with injuries that were …
Adult Death Child Death (18 and Under) Child Under 18 (as Shooter) Maryland Ongoing Investigation Texas
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2020
Two teenagers were shot and killed in gun accidents on Christmas day. In Indian Head, Maryland, 17-year old Edwin Roberto Rivera Juarez was accidentally shot in the upper body by a 13-year old relative who was handling a firearm. The victim was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. Police are investigating how …
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2020
On Venice Boulevard in Los Angeles, California, a homeless fired a gun into the air at about 10:00 PM on Christmas Eve and accidentally injured another homeless man. The victim is in stable condition at a local hospital. Police are investigating. Source: “Homeless Man Firing Gun Into Air Wounds Man,” LA.com (December 25, 2020).
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2020
Jose Ortega, a 19-year old in San Antonio, Texas, died after being shot in the head in a gun accident today. In the same incident, an 18-year old woman was struck in the leg. She is expected to survive. A 16-year old girl was playing with a gun that belonged to a family member when …
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2020
Elijah Morin, a 16-year old Lubbock, Texas boy was shot and killed today in a gun accident. Kimberly Hozepma, a 64-year old has been charged with negligent homicide. Police say Hozepma called 911 himself, and voluntarily gave a statement. In the statement, Hozepma acknowledged that “he had removed the magazine to check his gun, with …
MONDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2020
Three young girls were struck by bullets and injured in unrelated incidents today. Two children were shot in their homes. A third was in a car when she was struck. In each case, it is clear the child was not the intended target of gun violence. No suspects are in custody. In the first incident, …
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2020
In Greenville, South Carolina, there is an ongoing investigation of a gun accident at City Arsenal, a gun store and shooting range, that injured two people. An individual inside the store accidentally fired a shot that struck his hand and then struck a second person, according to the Sheriff’s Office. Both men are hospitalized in …
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2020
In Little Rock, Arkansas, 18-year old Donte Jones died in a gun accident. The Police report indicates only that a juvenile has been arrested in connection with the incident and charged with manslaughter, tampering with evidence and possession of a handgun by a minor. Source: Max Brantley, “Teen Dies in What Police Term Accidental Shooting,” …
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2020
Three guns were accidentally fired today. Three injuries resulted. In Thomasville, Georgia, a man was moving his friend’s AR-15 rifle at the request of his friend’s grandmother, without knowing that the gun was loaded, when it inadvertently fired. A child was injured. There is no report on the victim’s condition. In Knightdale, North Carolina, a …
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2020
Aerial Katelynn Brazzell of Hamilton, Ohio was arrested for reckless homicide after accidentally shooting and killing a 16-year old boy at her home. Brazzell, who is 21, was playing with a firearm when she pointed it at the victim, Bennie Boggs, Jr. The gun went off and Boggs is dead. Boggs ‘”liked to be a …
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2020
In Las Vegas, Nevada, Jasmin Vargas was charged with two counts of “child abuse and neglect with substantial bodily harm leading to death” after she accidentally shot her 3-year old son. Vargas was a new gun owner who was showing the gun off to her friends in the parking lot of a local apartment complex. …
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2020
Children in Michigan, Indiana and Idaho died in gun accidents today. The Michigan accident occurred in Canton Township. Eight-year old Jack Bennett, an only child, died when a bullet discharged as his father was cleaning a gun. According to his mother, Tammy Snyder, “[i]t was a freak accident. It was supposed to be an unloaded …
Child Death (18 and Under) Child Injury (18 and Under) Child Under 18 (as Shooter) Children and Guns Connecticut Florida Georgia Ongoing Investigation Washington, DC
MONDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2020
On the 8th anniversary of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, at least four children were killed or injured in gun accidents. Three of the incidents involved guns that were found by the children themselves or by other children. The fourth involved a child who was hit by a stray bullet while walking on the …
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2020
Two young people were accidentally shot and killed by friends today while playing with guns. 18-year old Armani Hall of Louisville, Kentucky was shot and killed by her 21-year old friend Adrianna King. King admitted that she had been playing with the gun. She was arrested and charged with one count of reckless homicide. In …
Alcohol and Guns Child Injury (18 and Under) Child Under 18 (as Shooter) Mississippi No Charges Filed Uncategorized
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2020
In Jackson, Mississippi, a 15 year-old girl was accidentally shot in the neck when she found a gun under a couch. She remains in the hospital in critical condition. According to a witness, when the girl found the gun, a 14-year old boy attempted to take it away from her and the gun went off. …
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2020
In New York City, New York a 41-year old innocent bystander was shot in the back by a round that was fired near West 64th Street. He is expected to survive. The shooting took place just a few blocks away from Lincoln Center, a cultural community that has more than five million visitors annually. The …
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2020
In Detroit, Michigan, a nine-year old boy was accidentally shot and seriously injured as his father was checking the chamber on his gun to make sure it was unloaded. Police arrested the father even as the boy remained hospitalized. “What we know about this story so far is no doubt it’s tragic and it’s unfortunate …
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2020
In Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, a 12-year old girl was accidentally shot in the wrist by a 12-year old friend. When police arrived at the scene, they found the girl with blood dripping down her arm and a sweatshirt tied around her hands. Witnesses told police that the 16-year old had accidentally shot the girl. According …
A YEAR OF DAILY REPORTS ABOUT UNINTENDED GUN VIOLENCE
Lessons Learned: [note: hyperlinked material shows in dark blue] November 15, 2020 marked the one-year anniversary of Shattered: The Gun Accident Journal. There are now more than 366 daily reports in the archive, categorized by state and tagged for common safety issues. There are also five chronological narratives that illustrate the steady accumulation of family …
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2020
Two people were hurt today in another accident that could have been prevented by a magazine safety disconnect. Two cousins, ages 16 and 21, in Holly Hill, South Carolina were parked in a car when the older boy removed a pistol from his backpack and removed the magazine. Shortly afterward, the mother of the 16-year-old …
MONDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2020
An 8-year old Oakland, California boy was hit in the leg by a stray bullet while watching television on a sofa at a relative’s home. He is in stable condition after undergoing surgery. The bullet that struck the boy was fired in a dispute outside the apartment complex. It passed apartment through the door before …
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2020
In Mesa, Arizona, 20-year old Tyler Rascon died in an accident caused by the absence of a magazine safety disconnect. His 21-year old friend, Michael Whipple, is under arrest. According to a report, the accident is explained in court documents: “it all started when Whipple, his girlfriend, Rascon, and a witness had returned to Whipple’s …
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2020
At Lenox Square Mall in Atlanta, Georgia, a city plagued with recent gun violence, police responded to shots fired inside the Neiman Marcus store. Police concluded that “the gunfire was the result of a person walking through the store and adjusting his pants when the firearm he had in his waistband went off.” No one …
Adult Arrested California Child Death (18 and Under) Child Injury (18 and Under) Child Under 18 (as Shooter) Georgia Ohio Ongoing Investigation
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2020
At least three children were victims of gun accidents today; two were killed and one was wounded. The accidents occurred in Georgia, California and Ohio. Five-year old Jada Willingham was killed in Lithonia, Georgia after being shot by another child who found a gun in her home. Police arrested 35-year old Chad Brooks, Sr. whose …
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2020
At the St. Lucie Shooting Center in Port St. Lucie, Florida, a bullet pierced a barrier and struck a shooting range employee. An off-duty police officer was present at the time. She and another officer applied a pair of tourniquets. The injured man was taken to the hospital where he was treated and released. A …
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2020
Another Ohio child died in a gun accident today. 12-year old Lidia Ghide of Reynoldsburg, Ohio was inside her apartment when she was shot in the back. Her neighbor, 42-year old Eric Carpenter, was cleaning a gun when it fired. The bullet passed through Carpenter’s front door and into Ghide’s apartment. Carpenter was arrested and …
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2020
At his home in Cambridge Springs, Pennsylvania, Craig Steven Galford, age 54, was placing a gun in his shoulder holster when it accidentally discharged. The bullet struck him in the left side of his torso and caused a fatal wound. It is unclear why Galford had a gun at all. According to an earlier news …