There were at least four more serious gun accidents today, for a total of nine in two days.  Several of the accidents occurred because the shooter wasn’t aware that the gun was loaded, making it unlikely that the weapons involved had a proper loaded chamber indicator, a common sense safety device.

In North Pole, Alaska, 19-year old Samuel Chastain was shot in the head and killed by his friend Jubal James, who fired a gun he believed was empty. The two were drinking and smoking marijuana with other kids at the time.  James was arrested for second degree murder.

In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a nine-year old pulled the trigger on a gun he believed was unloaded. He shot a 17-year old in the head and the older boy died at the hospital.  A 7-year old girl witnessed the shooting and hurt herself running away from the scene of the incident.

The last two incidents happened in vehicles. In Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Chad Blackard, was repositioning  a gun in the backseat of a car when he accidentally fired through the back of the seat in front of him.  A 17-year old pregnant girl was struck and both she and her unborn child died at the hospital.  Among other things, Blackard is charged with  negligent homicide and third degree “feticide.”

In Jackson, Mississippi, also in a car, another young man accidentally fired a gun through the seat and struck another boy in the shoulder. The victim is listed in critical condition at the hospital.

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