SUNDAY, MAY 22, 2022

For the second time this week, a Phoenix, Arizona teenager accidentally shot a teenage friend today.

In the latest incident, Sergio Lopez Ruiz accidentally shot his friend Brian Lujan, also 18, while the two were handling Lopez Ruiz’s gun. Lujan died at the hospital and Lopez Ruiz has been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter.

On May 17, 14-year old Emir Rivas was accidentally shot and killed by a 15-year old who was playing with a gun in a car. The 15-year old has been arrested although the police concluded the shooting was accidental.

Neither report contains information about whether an adult will be held responsible for allowing a teenager access to a gun.

Sources:

Angela Cordoba Perez, “18-year-old Man Dies, His Friend Arrested After a Gun Went Off in a West Phoenix Home,” AZ Central (May 24, 2022).

Haleigh Kochanski, “14-year-old Boy Dead After ‘Accidental’ Shooting Involving 15-year-old Boy,” AZ Central (May 23, 2022).

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From the Archives

FRIDAY, JANUARY 1, 2021

Across the country, people young and old were injured or killed by celebratory gunfire on New Year’s morning. The incidents are too numerous to fully describe.

Returning to Texas, the site of one of last year’s worst celebratory gunfire tragedies, at least four people, including a sleeping eight-year old Houston boy, were struck by celebratory gunfire.

The eight-year old was home in bed when he was struck. The bullet passed through an apartment wall. He is expected to survive.

In another incident in Houston, a 24-year old woman was struck in the abdomen when her intoxicated grandfather began firing in the air. She was taken to the hospital for surgery and is also expected to survive.

In Laredo, Texas, an 8-year old girl was watching fireworks in her driveway when she was grazed by a stray bullet. Laredo police called celebratory gunfire “illegal and extremely dangerous” and stated “What goes up must come down... bullets shot up do NOT disappear.”

A 4-year old boy in Arlington, Texas was not as lucky. He was struck in the head and killed while people in his home were dancing and playing with a gun. "Again, another tragic case, certainly preventable," a police lieutenant said.

Put simply, celebrations should not turn into tragedies.

Sources:

Courtney Fischer, “8-year-old Among 2 Celebratory Gunfire Victims Across Houston Area on New Year's Day,” ABC 13 Eyewitness News (January 1, 2020).

Zach Davis, “Laredo Child, 12, Hit by Stray Bullet while Watching Fireworks,” Laredo Morning Times (January 1, 2020).

Frank Heinz, “Boy, 4, Killed in Accidental New Year's Shooting in North Arlington: Police,” NBC DFW (January 1, 2020).

Shattered – The Gun Accident Journal

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