One-year old Khori Patterson of St. Louis, Missouri found a loaded gun in his home and shot himself in the head. He later died at the hospital. “This is just a terrible tragedy that should have never happened. Guns are inherently dangerous,” a police colonel said. Khori’s grandfather said that Khori “loved animals, eating ice …
Month: August 2022
TUESDAY, AUGUST 30, 2022
A nine-year old boy was shot in the hip in an Oakland, California freeway shooting. He was driving with a woman in a vehicle that was being chased on I-580 and shot at. Seeking to evade the shooting, the car exited the freeway but then crashed into a truck. Witnesses say that the crashed vehicle …
MONDAY, AUGUST 29, 2022
A Philadephia, Pennsylvania FBI agent suffered minor injuries when his gun discharged on the loading dock of the local federal building. In the statement, the FBI said, “The FBI takes all shooting incidents involving our agents or tasks force members seriously. In accordance with Bureau police, the shooting incident is under investigation by an FBI …
Adult Arrested Adult Death Alaska Child Death (18 and Under) Hawaii New York No Charges Filed Ongoing Investigation
SUNDAY, AUGUST 28, 2022
In Anchor Point, Alaska, Kenneth Defrancesco, 80, appeared to have been killed while getting out of his vehicle. “[A] firearm he was carrying came out of the holster and fired a round, fatally wounding him,” Alaska State Troopers reported in a press release on Sunday. A friend found Defrancesco in his driveway after he had …
SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 2022
No charges were filed today after a West Palm Beach man claiming to have “dry-fired” a gun believing it was unloaded, shot and killed his good friend. The 25-year old victim managed to get outside before dying on the stairs. Witnesses told police that a group of six friends were gathered in an apartment when …
FRIDAY, AUGUST 26, 2022
Terry Moody, Jr. of Charleston, West Virginia died today when a gun fired while in his pants pocket. Police called the shooting accidental. Additional circumstances of the accident have not been reported and it is unclear if the gun was defective. Source: Amanda Barren, “Victim in Sissonville Fatal Shooting Identified,” wowktv.com (August 28, 2022).
THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2022
At a park in Houston, Texas today, a two-year old boy was able to get hold of a gun and use it to shoot himself in the hand. Police said there were several men sitting at a table in the park. “At some point, one of the men pulled out the gun and placed it …
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 24, 2022
In Gainsville, Florida, a three-year old child who was home with two other children and an adult who was not his parent, took a loaded gun from an unlocked case and shot himself. The child later died at the hospital. “Well, the case is still under investigation, but what we know at this point, it …
TUESDAY, AUGUST 23, 2022
In Williamsport, Pennsylvania, a 13-year old boy found a gun in his home and accidentally shot himself in the leg. Police are investigating how he got the gun. Source: Rayna McGlynn, “PD: Boy Accidentally Shoots Himself in Leg, Officials Investigate How He Obtained Gun,” Fox 56 (August 24, 2022).
Adult Arrested Child Death (18 and Under) Child Under 18 (as Shooter) Georgia Juvenile Arrested Michigan Ongoing Investigation Tennessee
MONDAY, AUGUST 22, 2022
A Stone Mountain, Georgia 17-year old, Dimitri Hayes, was accidentally shot by his twin brother, Xavier, when the two were playing with a gun in their bedroom. Dimitri was taken to the hospital where he later died from his injuries. Xavier was charged with felony murder and aggravated assault. There is no report at this …
SUNDAY, AUGUST 21, 2022
22-year old Christopher Jordan of Fresno, California was arrested after he accidentally shot and killed his girlfriend, Deisha Guzman, age 20, at a local Hampton Inn hotel. Jordan initially claimed that he placed his gun on the bed and that Guzman had shot herself. After questioning, Jordan admitted that he accidentally fired the gun, striking …
SATURDAY, AUGUST 20, 2022
In Sumter County, Florida, a father mistakenly shot and killed his 19-year old son, Jaiden McGeorge, whom he mistook for a burglar, according to the Sheriff’s Office. The report about the incident indicates that burglars had been to the house earlier in the evening. A 14-year old Los Angeles, California boy is in stable condition after …
FRIDAY, AUGUST 19, 2022
Ashton Bean, a Picayune, Mississippi 13-year old, was shot and killed inside a home today where he and another boy were handling a gun. The news reports are unclear about how the boys got hold of the gun. The incident remains under investigation. Source: “13-year-old Dies After Gun Discharged Inside Mississippi House,” Magnolia State Live …
THURSDAY, AUGUST 18, 2022
In Ruskin, Florida, a 17-year old brought a gun to high school in his car. When his friend, a former student, found the gun, he accidentally shot himself, but was then able to drive himself to the hospital. The 17-year old was arrested and charged with possession of a gun on school property. The school …
Adult Arrested Child Death (18 and Under) Child Under 18 (as Shooter) Indiana Ongoing Investigation Pennsylvania
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 17, 2022
In Lake County, Indiana, an 8-year old accidentally shot himself to death today. The child was the second in the region to lose his life to an unintended gunshot wound in the last two months, illustrating the urgency in Indiana to enact more effective safe storage and child access prevention laws. According to the report, …
TUESDAY, AUGUST 16, 2022
In Rosebud, Missouri, a 10-month old baby was shot in the stomach by a three-year old child. The toddler had taken the gun from a purse on the counter in their home. According to the report, there is an ongoing investigation. Source: Zachary Farwell, “Investigators Determine Shooting of Baby in Gasconade County as Accidental,” ABC 17 …
GUNS, “SAFE SPACES” LEGISLATION, AND CARS
We recently posted on the likely impact of the Supreme Court’s decision in New York Rifle and Pistol Ass’n v. Bruen on gun safety. In Bruen, the Supreme Court ruled that all “law-abiding” Americans have a Second Amendment right to carry a gun outside the home for self-defense. Several states quickly responded by considering or …
MONDAY, AUGUST 15, 2022
In Smyrna, Tennessee, Lavonte’e Williams, a five-year old, found a loaded gun in his father’s backpack and used it to shoot and kill himself. The incident happened at a basketball court where the boy’s father was playing. There is an ongoing investigation. Source: Erin McCullough, “Child Killed in Smyrna Accidental Shooting Found Gun in Father’s …
SUNDAY, AUGUST 14, 2022
Jordan Esteban, a 17-year old boy, died of a gunshot wound to the head in a Tulsa, Oklahoma parking lot today. 21-year old Oscar Zermeno was arrested after the incident. According to Zermeno and other witnesses, Esteban was shot accidentally as occupants of a parked vehicle passed a gun around inside the car. Source: Callie …
SATURDAY, AUGUST 13, 2022
A St. Petersburg, Florida 15-year old accidentally shot and killed himself today while handling a pistol. Officials said this is at least the third accidental shooting involving a Tampa Bay area child since the middle of July. Last month, a 16-year-old was killed when investigators said he was accidentally shot by a 15-year-old friend while they …
FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2022
A teenage boy in Meriden, Connecticut was accidentally shot by his father while being shown how to use a handgun today. The boy’s father was showing him the weapon while trying to get his son acclimated with firearms. “The teen was going to start firearm training at a local gun range soon,” according to authorities. …
THURSDAY, AUGUST 11, 2022
“A person” in Hertford, North Carolina was killed in an accidental shooting today. The Sheriff’s Office found that an accidental discharge of a weapon resulted in the death of the victim. According to another report, the “person” involved was an 18-year who died from a single accidental blast of a shotgun. Sources: Alton Worley, II, …
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2022
In Atlanta, Georgia, a 19-year old was accidentally shot and killed at a house party. “All of a sudden we heard the loud noise and came out front because we heard screaming,” a neighbor said. He added, “[t]hat was the impression I got: they were playing around with the gun, and someone somehow fired the …
TUESDAY, AUGUST 9, 2022
In Eastpointe, Michigan, a five-year old boy found a loaded .40-caliber Sig Sauer handgun in his home and shot himself in the foot. The boy’s uncle, Laron Alston, who was looking after the boy, had hidden the gun in the cushions of a recliner because there was no gun safe at the residence. The boy …
MONDAY, AUGUST 8, 2022
18-year old Tavbey Kucukkarca died of his wounds after being shot by a 15-year old friend in a rural area of Texas. The two were firing guns together when the accident occurred. Tavbey died at the scene despite dispatch of EMS helicopters. Source: Jana Kilcrease, “One Central Texas Teen Dead in ‘Accidental’ Shooting,” Killeen Daily …
SUNDAY, AUGUST 7, 2022
In Atlanta, Georgia, four-year old Kendall Lewis found a loaded gun in the back seat of her car while her mother was driving on the interstate. She shot and killed herself. Her mother, Kaelin Lewis, was charged with murder. The family remembered Kendall as a “boisterous and lively four-year-old.” She was excited about starting Pre-K. Source: …
Adult Arrested Adult Death Alabama Child Death (18 and Under) Child Injury (18 and Under) Child Under 18 (as Shooter) Children and Guns Florida Maryland Mississippi No Charges Filed Ongoing Investigation Texas
SATURDAY, AUGUST 6, 2022
There were at least five gun accidents involving children across the United States today, four of them fatal. In Forestdale, Alabama, a 12-year old accidentally shot and killed his mother. The child initially made up an implausible story but then admitted his role in the shooting. “This offense is a tragedy for the … family …
FRIDAY, AUGUST 5, 2022
In Georgetown, South Carolina, an 18-year old boy attempting to defend himself in the dark against a neighbor’s dog pulled a gun and fired at least four shots at the dog. One of the shots struck his 15-year old friend, who had fallen down, in the leg. The boy was treated at the hospital. The dog was …
THURSDAY, AUGUST 4, 2022
Jesse Porter, 58, a retired Washington, D.C. police lieutenant, shot and killed Maurica Manyan, age 25, a woman who worked as a special police officer in the DC Public Library’s public safety division. Porter shot Manyan just after a police training that Porter had been conducting at the Anacostia Public Library. According to the report, …
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3, 2022
Zyon Williams, 19, of Clovis, New Mexico told police he was walking with two of his friends with his grandmother’s 9mm XD pistol tucked into the waistband of his pants. He was playing with the pistol as he approached the building where Shammiel Kirven, age 17, was standing and he pointed it at her. The gun …
TUESDAY, AUGUST 2, 2022
Demetrius Clarke of Oxon Hill, Maryland, age 18, was arrested and charged with manslaughter after a gun he was handling discharged and shot and killed his 16-year old friend. The 16-year old was dropped off at a local fire station and later died at the hospital. Source: “PGPD Charges Male With Manslaughter in Oxon Hill,” …
MONDAY, AUGUST 1, 2022
Dominique Poindexter, age 22, of Charleston, West Virginia was unintentionally shot and killed tonight by his friend Marcus Lee Linville. Linville, 23, is charged with wanton endangerment in connection with the shooting. Police Investigators said Linville “thought the gun was unloaded when he fired at Poindexter, shooting him in the head.” They added that Linville …