MONDAY, JUNE 24, 2024

Unintentional Shootings Injure Two Teens

In Hesperia, Michigan, an 18-year-old is in fair condition at the hospital after being unintentionally shot in the abdomen by a 17-year-old while they were target shooting.

And in McAllen, Texas, a 15-year-old was hospitalized after being accidentally shot in the head while playing video games with three other teens. One of them, Angel Manuel Gonzalez, 18, told police that Hiram Zuniga, 17, arrived and met with him outside in Zuniga’s truck. Zuniga gave him a black Glock 45 to hold. When Gonzalez returned to the other teens, he jokingly pointed the gun towards them when it discharged. Gonzalez claims he didn’t know it was loaded.

Zuniga hid the gun, but it was recovered by detectives. Gonzalez was charged with aggravated assault with a weapon, and Zuniga has been charged with tampering with evidence.

Sources:

John Tunison, “Teen Shot While Target Practicing With Another Teen,” mlive.com (June 25, 2024).

Steven Masso, “Affidavit: Teen ‘Jokingly’ Pointed Gun at Friends Before McAllen Shooting,” valleycentral.com (June 27, 2024).

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TUESDAY, JUNE 15, 2021

A 14-year old Jacksonville, Florida boy was arrested and charged with negligence after a 6-year old found a gun in a bedroom of his home and accidentally killed himself. Police said the 14-year-old is accused of improperly storing the gun because he had had possession of the weapon earlier that day.

The child, 6-year old Danny Waye III, was “a precious little boy, full of life,” according to a family friend. His grandmother called the shooting a “freak accident.” She was apparently asleep in the home at the time of the accident.

“One of the things that we always cover is the importance of safe storage,” a local gun advocate said. “Florida Law requires that if you have reason to believe that children might gain access to a firearm in your home, that you have to store it in some way where a reasonable person would not expect a child to gain access.”

Reports do not explain how the 14-year old had access to the gun. Nor do they explain why a manufacturer would design a gun without safety features, such as an external manual safety or an integrated gun lock, that would prevent a 6-year old from shooting it.

Sources:

Ashley Harding, Brittany Muller, Brie Isom, “14-year-old Charged with Negligence in Fatal Shooting of 6-year-old Boy,” News4Jax (June 16, 2021).

Dan Scanlan, “JSO: Jacksonville Boy, 6, Accidentally Shoots Himself; Teen Charged with Culpable Negligence in his Death,” The Florida Times Union (June 16, 2021).

Shattered – The Gun Accident Journal

Unintentional Shootings Injure Two Teens

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