Reports of Unintended Gun Violence Collected from Media Reports Across the United States
Corrections Officer Accidentally Shot During Target Practice A corrections officer was accidentally shot in the leg in a prison in Beacon, New York. The 45-year-old officer was wounded during target practice at the weapons firing range, and was treated by responding EMS personnel. It’s not clear who fired the round, and no other details have …
One Man Dies, and Two Others are Hurt in Gun Accidents Today In San Antonio, Texas, a man in his 30’s unintentionally shot and killed himself. Details about the shooting remain unclear, as police wait for the medical examiner’s findings for more information. The investigation is ongoing. A 16-year-old in Detroit, Michigan accidentally shot himself …
Two Children Dead, Four Wounded in Unintentional Shootings While recording a video with two friends, a 14-year-old boy in Detroit, Michigan, was shot and killed. One of the friends, a 16-year-old, was handling the 9mm pistol when it accidentally fired striking the victim. He died at the scene. The gun had been stolen from a …
In New Roads, Louisiana, a 13-year-old riding a four-wheeler along a levee was shot and killed by a stray bullet today. The round was fired by one of two men who were engaged in target practice at the time. Donell Francois Jr., and Quentin Leonard ll were arrested and charged with of illegal discharge of …
In St. Louis, Missouri, a 4-year old found a loaded gun and died after accidentally shooting himself today. Minimal details were reported and there is no word about charges. In Dekalb, Illinois, three men were arrested after they failed to take proper safety precautions while engaging in target practice. One of their rounds passed into …
Several types of common American gun accidents were on display today in cities across the country. In Memphis, Tennessee, a man died in an apparent shooting range accident. Two children found loaded guns at home and shot themselves. Again, in Memphis, Tennessee, a toddler is in critical condition after a self-inflicted shooting. Memphis officials say …
A Payette County, Idaho 64-year old was airlifted to the hospital after his 70-year old friend accidentally shot him during target practice. The 70-year old was unloading his rifle when it went off. The round struck the younger man, whose condition is unknown. No arrests have been made. Source: “Middleton Man Shot in Target Practice …
Heather Sitton, an Indiantown, Florida mother of three, was struck in the shoulder by a stray bullet fired by neighbors who were using their backyard for target practice. The bullet passed through her collarbone and exited the other shoulder. She was flown to the hospital and is expected to survive. Heather, her children, and others …
Three children were injured today in two separate gun accidents. A nine-year old in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma was injured when a gun accidentally discharged. According to the report, a group of children were playing with the gun in an apartment when it discharged and struck the child in the hip. The report does not provide …
Candace Chrzan, a senior at Jonesboro High School in Georgia was accidentally shot and killed during target practice in the backyard of her friend’s home. “At some point, Candace did have possession of a .22 pistol that they were using for target practicing,” the Sheriff’s Office later announced. “The gun jammed.” The Sheriffs’ Office added …
A four-year old in Columbus, Ohio was in stable condition at the hospital after rolling over onto a loaded gun on a bed in his home. A “911 caller told police that the child rolled over onto a gun that way lying on the bed, causing the gun to go off, shooting the child in …
Two young people were accidentally shot and killed by friends today while playing with guns. 18-year old Armani Hall of Louisville, Kentucky was shot and killed by her 21-year old friend Adrianna King. King admitted that she had been playing with the gun. She was arrested and charged with one count of reckless homicide. In …
In Ogden Utah, a woman was shot in both legs in yet another shooting range accident. The bullet nicked an artery and her injuries will require surgery. A police sergeant said, “[a]n adult male set his gun down and forgot it was loaded. He went to open it up to take it apart, and the …
In Bad Axe, Michigan, a man was shot in the shoulder inside his home by one of two men practicing with a 9-mm handgun. The round passed through the woods and through a wall of a neighboring house, striking the 49-year-old male resident in his shoulder, according to the sheriff. After being shot, the wounded …
In Beattyville, Kentucky, nine-year old Jeremiah Fox died in a gun accident that occurred during target practice with his family. According to a report, a weapon malfunctioned, discharged and hit the boy in the chest. He was flown to a hospital where the coroner pronounced him dead. The reported details so far are insufficient to …
In Gladwin County, Michigan a man was shot in the leg during target practice. The Sheriff’s Office says that the injury appeared to be accidentally inflicted. Deputies also found damage to a home in the area where a bullet went through the outside wall and hit an inside wall. Four other people continue to practice …
A man participating in target practice with family and friends was accidentally shot in the leg when another participant attempted to fix a malfunctioning weapon. The Free Soil Township, Michigan man, Jason Eric Schenkel, is expected to survive. According to the report, the gun owner was attempting to fix the malfunction on the hood of …
In Titusville, Florida, a nine-year old girl was shot by an older sibling during target practice in the woods. A 34-year old relative of the girl was arrested and charged with aggravated child neglect, apparently because he had left guns and ammunition with the children when he was not present. “Definitely an unusual case, because …
Unintended Discharge From Officer’s Gun Injures Three A plainclothes officer was working a rodeo in Reno, Nevada, when his handgun fell to the ground and fired a single round resulting in debris that injured three people. The handgun fell when the officer’s holster got caught on a fence he jumped while rushing to assist a …
4-year-old Injured After Finding Loaded Gun In a home in Glendale, Arizona, a 4-year-old boy was critically injured after he shot himself in the chest with a loaded, unsecured gun. He is now in stable condition, and is expected to recover. His father, Kevin Rhymes, 44, and his father’s girlfriend, Laquasha Sebastian, 31, have both …
8-year-old Killed; Two Teens Injured in Unintentional Shootings In St. David, Arizona, 8-year-old Bradley John Shockley was accidentally shot in the chest with an air rifle while riding on the back of a friends’s four-wheeler. He was pronounced dead at the hospital a short time later. The vehicle went through an area where people were …
One Teen is Dead, One Injured in Accidental Shootings Matthew Elijah Espinoza, an 18-year-old in Dallas, Texas, was accidentally shot and killed. Vincent Michael Corral, also 18, was holding the gun when he shot Espinoza. He has been charged with criminally negligent homicide. And a 16-year-old boy in Akron, Ohio, was hospitalized in critical condition …
Hunter Injured in Winchester Model 94 Accident In Big Flats, New York, a 41-year-old hunter was accidentally shot in the arm and had to be airlifted to the hospital for treatment. Police determined that the rifle, a scoped Winchester Model 94, lever action 30-30, belonged to a 29-year-old man who had placed it on the …
Two Children Die After Being Shot with Unsecured Guns Eight-year-old Nayeli Carranza Aguilar was shot and killed by another child with an unsecured, loaded gun in Granbury, Texas. The family is cooperating with deputies, who found the gun in the home, but are working to figure out how the children got a hold of it. …
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 …
Three More Unintended Child Victims; One Dead Two Wounded K’Von Morgan, age 10, of Petersburg, Virginia was shot and killed while preparing for bed today. He was struck by a bullet fired outside the apartment where he lived with his family and died on the way to the hospital. “It makes no sense that a …
Man Accidentally Kills Self in Car Ponca City, Oklahoma police report that 23-year-old Cesar Lopez was handling a loaded firearm in a car when the firearm went off unintentionally and struck Lopez in the head. The driver stopped the car in a parking lot where Lopez died. “Tragedies such as this can commonly be avoided …
Three Gun Accidents, Including a Fatal Shooting While Middle Schoolers Were Filming a Video with Guns as Props A 13-year-old seventh grader in Richmond, Virginia was killed inside a local home while filming a video with friends. The children were using guns as props to film the video when one went off. Local authorities are …
Two More Teenagers Killed in Gun Accidents For the second day in a row, two teenagers died in preventable gun accidents. In New Orleans, Louisiana, 15-year-old Tyler Ellis was accidentally shot in his home by another 15-year-old. Less than three weeks ago, Kennedi Belton, a classmate of Ellis’s, was also killed in a preventable gun …
Because there are 390 million guns already present in the United States, it is clear that the only practical way forward is a relentless focus on preventing gun violence before it happens. Evidence-based suicide prevention programs and well-funded community-based gun violence intervention projects are two prongs of the necessary three-pronged approach. The third is reevaluation …
A six-year old Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania apparently found a gun is his home and accidentally shot himself in the head. He is hospitalized in critical condition. And in separate incidents, two Pullman, Washington men accidentally shot themselves and had to be airlifted to the hospital in Spokane. One of the men shot himself in the leg …
A three-year old Jacksonville, Florida boy found a loaded and unsecured gun in the bedroom of his home today. He shot himself in the head and died. Alexander Sibley, a 36-year old man, was later arrested and charged with illegal gun possession based on a prior felony conviction. A neighbor told a reporter, “I do …
Eight-year old Tiana Huddleston or Milwaukee, Wisconsin was shot and killed today by random gunfire. The Acting Mayor of Milwaukee referred to the incident as “mistaken gunfire,” perhaps ignoring that almost all gunfire, other than at practice ranges, is mistaken or worse. He added, “[p]lease, put down the guns. If you have a gun in your …
Three children were killed in unintended gun violence on Thanksgiving Day. In Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, a group of kids were making a social media video with a gun on Thanksgiving Day, when one of them accidentally pulled the trigger. A five-year old was shot and killed and a 13-year old has been taken into custody. …
In West Jordan, Utah, a 13-year old boy was accidentally killed by his 15-year old friend. According to police, the two had snuck out in the middle of the night with a handgun and were “messing around with it” in a church parking lot. “At some point, the 15-year-old accidentally pulled the trigger, shooting and …
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 …
In Idaho Falls, Idaho, a teenager accidentally shot and injured himself with a gun he found in a local canal. The Sheriff’s Office says a 16-year-old and 14-year-old were handling a gun when it accidentally fired, hitting the 14-year old. He was taken to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries. A statement issued by …
Criminalizing the Negligence of Caregivers May Let Manufacturers Off the Hook It is quite clear from any rational child safety perspective that manufacturers should be discouraged or prevented from designing guns that children can easily fire. Better designs can be achieved with effective external manual safeties, magazine safety disconnects, heavier trigger pulls or trigger designs …
Additional Information About Unintentional Shootings Gun Violence Archive — Accidental Death Reports. Gun Violence Archive – Accidental Injury Reports. Violence Policy Center — Misfire: The Gun Industry’s Lack of Accountability for Defective Firearms (by the author of this journal). Giffords Law Center – Gun Violence Statistics. Harvard Injury Control Research Center – Research on Gun …
The clearest lesson that emerges from the tragedies reported in this journal is that we all can do more to make guns safe. Some recommendations: Better and More Frequent Safety Training. Many gun advocates and gun organizations like to say that all gun accidents are caused by the shooter. According to these activists, the …
The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources reported today that there were 11 hunting accidents across the state in 2019, including two that resulted in deaths. The year 2020, however, started badly when hunter Kim Drawdy and his 9-year old daughter were mistaken for deer on New Years day and accidentally shot by other hunters. …
The Associated Press reported that it had gathered reports of 1,422 unintentional gun discharges by police since 2012 at 258 different law enforcement agencies. It called its information gathering a “snapshot” of the problem because there are no reporting requirements for such incidents. The reports document all incidents in which a gun went off when …
In Memphis Tennessee, 20-year old Alex Brown was arrested after accidentally shooting and killing a four-year old boy. Brown told police, “he was unloading his pistol when it accidentally fired and struck his nephew in the head.” A police official pointed to the importance of gun safety practices. “As a parent of three, two teens …