FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 2024

Two More Floridians Killed in Accidental Shootings A man died after unintentionally shooting himself in a car near an elementary school in Port St. John, Florida. The people in the car were headed to the school to pick up their grandchild. The shooting did not occur on school property, but the school was placed under …

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2023

High School Athlete is Killed and Man is Injured in Separate Unintentional Shootings High school basketball player, Johnnie McClendon, 14, was unintentionally shot and killed in the home he shared with his grandmother in Charlotte, North Carolina. He had just returned from attending his younger brother’s birthday party. Family members said that 19-year-old Myhijee Major, …

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2023

Teacher Killed and 4-year-old Wounded in Gun Accidents A teacher and pastor’s son, Michael Alexander McMinn, 22, was shot and killed in Abbeville, South Carolina. A relative was showing off a new gun that unintentionally discharged hitting McMinn. He was airlifted to the hospital where he died. A captain with the sheriff’s office said no …

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2023

Two Gun Accidents Today Leave One Man Dead, and Two Soldiers Injured Police are not releasing the name or age of a man who was accidentally shot in the chest and killed in Yankton, South Dakota. Cody Auch, 20, has been charged with first-degree manslaughter. Police determined that the shooting took place in the victim’s …

TUESDAY, JULY 11, 2023

Two Dead and Four Wounded in Unintentional Shootings Jordan Rosales, a 12-year-old from Lubbock, Texas, was accidentally shot and killed in his house in front of his three siblings. Two boys had came over to the victim’s house; one of them, a 13-year-old, brought a loaded gun with him and while handling it, shot and …

SATURDAY, MAY 14, 2022

 A man claiming that he fired his gun in the air to stop a knife fight in Columbus, Ohio, accidentally shot an eight-year old girl.  The girl was later found by police lying in the park in critical condition with a gunshot wound that required surgery. However, she is expected to survive.  28-year old Torrance …

THURSDAY, JULY 22, 2021

In Pensacola, Florida, a patron of O’Reilly’s Uptown Tavern pulled a gun to show it to other patrons.  The incident was apparently caught on video.  When he mimed an attempt  to return the gun to a shoulder holster, it went off, striking him in the upper torso.  “I don’t know if he was pretending to …

THURSDAY, JUNE 3, 2021

A Myrtle Beach, South Carolina man showing off a new gun holster to his friend shot himself in the hand while dropping the magazine out of his gun.  The man was treated at the hospital. Police found the gun in a filing cabinet and a shell casing on the floor.  In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, a 21-year …

TUESDAY, MARCH 2, 2021

A 6-year old Nashville, North Carolina boy was shot and injured by a friend of his brother, who was showing off a gun.  According to the report, the boy’s 16-year old brother had friends over, one of whom was showing the group his gun when it fired.   The 6-year old was airlifted to a hospital, …

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.  …

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2020

Three individuals shot themselves in the lower body today in various  handgun accidents.  A toddler is severely injured, a man is dead, and another appears to have lost his ability to reproduce. A three-year old in Jupiter Inlet, Florida gained access to his uncle’s handgun and shot himself in the thigh and hand.  He is …

SUNDAY, AUGUST 9, 2020

Two children unintentionally shot and killed others while playing with guns today.  Each gun accident involves two shattered lives.  In Biloxi, Mississippi, a “deceased male … under the age of 18” was “hanging out at an apartment” with friends when a 13-year old,  Jayden Kyshun Frazier, started showing off a gun and pointing it at …

FRIDAY, JULY 17, 2020

In a continuing pandemic of gun violence in Chicago, 11 people were killed and 59 were injured in gun violence this weekend.  One of the victims shot himself in the head, in an apparent gun accident, as he was showing off his gun via social media.  The 25-year old is in “grave” condition at a …

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2020

In Killingly, Connecticut, Mountain Robicheau shot through his leg when showing off his gun to his sister.  The man told police that “he was showing his sister the de-cocking mechanism of his Beretta 96A .40-caliber pistol when his finger slipped while he was trying to lower the weapon’s hammer.” Robicheau opted not to immediately go …

MONDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2023

Christmas Day Gun Accidents In Nashville, Tennessee, 81-year-old Johnnie Thompson was showing a friend how his Derringer pistol worked. He was fatally struck when he dropped the gun on the floor causing it to unintentionally discharge. Police don’t anticipate any charges being filed. Diego Diaz-Martinez, 31, was a guest at a Christmas family gathering in …

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2023

Two Men Unintentionally Shoot Themselves A man unintentionally shot himself in the leg with his friend’s gun in Franklin, Indiana. The two friends were at a skate park and were showing each other their guns. The victim didn’t realize that the safety was off on his friend’s loaded gun when he pulled the trigger. The …

FRIDAY, JULY 21, 2023

Five Injured in Unintentional Shootings Including Three Children A 4-year-old child in Moncks Corner, South Carolina, was injured in what is reported as an accidental shooting. The child was taken to the hospital but the extent of their injuries is not known. The sheriff’s office is investigating. ShaiAnn Coley, 3, was staying with a relative …

SATURDAY, MAY 20, 2023

Seven People Wounded in Unintentional Shootings With a stolen handgun that he thought made him “look cool,” a 14-year-old in Struthers, Ohio, unintentionally shot a 16-year-old in the stomach. The victim was taken to the hospital and is in stable condition. The 14-year-old was showing the gun to the victim, pretending to shoot it, when …

SATURDAY, APRIL 1, 2023

Five Unintentional Shootings Result in Five Injuries   At least five people were injured in gun accidents in the United States today.  A 13-year-old Cincinnati, Ohio boy was critically injured when a friend shot him in the back. The police incident report indicates that the shooting was accidental, but police continue to investigate and are still …

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2022

In Miami, Florida,  a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer was accidentally shot and killed at  shooting range during a training exercise. The office was identified as 40-year-old Jorge Arias. He was acting as instructor at the time of the accident. However, other details have not been released. “He had that passion for firearms, so …

FRIDAY, JUNE 3, 2022

Austin Duhon, a Lubbock, Texas teenager was showing his friend, Christopher Stringer, a shotgun while they were watching television together.  Duhon believed the gun was unloaded. Somehow the gun went off and Stringer was shot in the waist.  At the time of the report, there was no update on Stringer’s condition. Source: James Clark, “Friday …

THURSDAY, APRIL 7, 2022

In Houston, Texas, a Texas Southern University senior was shot and killed in a gun accident today when a gun that his roommate was showing to the victim and a friend went off and struck the victim in the side. The three students believed that the gun was unloaded. No word about whether the gun …

MONDAY, APRIL 4, 2022

In Belleville, Illinois, a 3-year old found a loaded gun in his home and used it to shoot himself. The boy is in critical condition at the hospital.  And in Lubbock, Texas, John Carrasco was arrested for illegal gun possession after he accidentally shot his father in the leg.  According to the report, Carrasco initially …

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16, 2022

Blake Miller, age 18, was charged today in connection with a March 12 unintended gun violence incident that allegedly occurred while Miller was showing his family’s .22 caliber rifle to his friends.  The boys had had a few beers at the time of the incident. According to the report, Miller, of Omaha, Nebraska, pointed the …

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2022

 Two young people, a ten-year old boy and an 18-year old girl, died in gun accidents today. The ten year-old, Charlie Patton, of Milledgeville, Georgia, died of a pellet gun wound after being accidentally shot by 17-year old Jamarius Walls, a friend of his family,.  “All the evidence and witness statements we have from the …

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2021

In Granite Quarry, North Carolina, a middle school student shot and killed himself when he “mishandled a gun” that he thought was unloaded. At this time, the family has asked for privacy and we ask for everyone to keep the family in thoughts and prayers,” the local police chief said. “We have no further releasable …

TUESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2021

In Jackson, Mississippi, police are investigating the accidental shooting death of Jeffrey Sutton II,  the 15-year old son of Jackson’s fire chief. He was shot in the lower extremities.  No other details are available at this time.  According to the report, Sutton was the second child of a Jackson firefighter to die of a gunshot …

WEDNESDAY, JULY 7, 2021

Two people died today in apparent gun accidents. In Goodlettsville, Tennessee, police found 8-year old Brayden Bowling in his home, suffering from an apparent accidental gunshot wound.  No specifics of the incident have been reported, including whether the boy found a loaded gun and shot himself.  Brayden later died at the hospital.  The principal of …

SATURDAY, JUNE 12, 2021

All over the country today, people were injured, in some cases critically, in gun accidents.  The available news reports make it difficult to separate those who were engaged in unsafe practices from those who were injured based on lack of safety features on their guns.  In most cases, accidents can presumably be attributed to both …

MONDAY, JANUARY 11, 2021

In Houston, Texas, 25-year old  Karina Montelongo was shot in the face when she was attempting to show her roommate how to use a  gun.  The  roommate told officers that Montelongo was showing her a gun she owned.  She had never handled a gun before and did not know it was loaded.  According to the …

GUNS AND ALCOHOL

As a society, we spend substantial resources trying to prevent accidents caused by drunken drivers.  Efforts include ubiquitous public service announcements, enhanced criminal and civil penalties, and legal remedies creating potential liability for those selling or otherwise providing alcohol to inebriated people.  Many of these efforts are designed to deter drunken driving by the in …

WEDNESDAY, JULY 1, 2020

In an accident reminiscent of the journal entry just two days ago on June 29, two men were showing each other their guns today when one of the guns went off.  A 30-year old Macon, Georgia man, Westley Faulks, was killed.  The shooter, 28-year old Tevin Pleas, “thought he’d cleared his weapon to show Faulks …

TUESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2020

19-year old Cesar Cortes was accidentally shot and killed today at Bellaire High School, just outside of Houston, Texas.  The shooter was his 16-year old friend, a boy who has not been identified because of his age.   According to authorities, both the shooter and Cortes were members of the High School’s JROTC program.  The younger …