Reports of Unintended Gun Violence Collected from Media Reports Across the United States
From a Facebook post made by the sheriff’s office in Nagadoches County, Texas, we learn today that two young boys were playing in a bedroom with a .380 semi-automatic pistol that had been left unattended. The boys, one ten and the other 13, had been shooting earlier in the day under adult supervision. When the boys …
Nathan Sharpnack, age 37, was accidentally killed while hunting in Marion County, Iowa. He and a large group of hunters were engaged in a deer drive when he was shot in the torso. There is an ongoing investigation and no other details are yet available. Also today, Jordan Griffey of Clark County, Missouri, accidentally shot …
At least two fatal gun accidents occurred today. In Pineville, Kentucky, Kyle Garrett, a 23-year old 911 dispatcher was accidentally shot and killed while trading guns with another dispatcher. The two men were best friends and cousins who frequently traded guns. According to local authorities, there were protocols in place to prevent non-sworn employees, including …
In Twilight, West Virginia, David Green, age 30, was digging for roots in the woods when he was accidentally shot by a local hunter. Search crews responding to a missing person’s report later found Green’s body in a remote area. The hunter, Jimmy Castle, age 70, subsequently turned himself in and was charged with …
Michael McDougal of Columbus, Georgia, age 26, was killed in a gun accident that reportedly occurred when his 9-year old daughter placed a gun on a table. There is an ongoing investigation. The report is unclear about whether the trigger was pulled. There are several well-known defects that cause certain makes and models of guns …
A Covington, Virginia three-year old found a gun in his home and shot himself to death. His grandfather acknowledged that the gun was his, but told police it was hidden under some clothes. The boy died at the hospital after being airlifted to a trauma center. According to the news report investigators are “searching for …
In Wichita, Kansas, 13-year old Waylon Treat was accidentally shot and killed today. His 16-year old brother had brought home a gun which the boys were examining when it fired. Adults were at home at the time of the incident, but they were apparently unaware that the boys were handling a gun. Waylon was a …
Dameon Bates, age 29, of Toledo, Ohio was shot and killed today when he and a friend were “horsing around” with a gun at a party. Bates died at the scene. His friend Mychal Smith, age 30, was arrested and charged with reckless homicide. In a similar incident today in Dallas, Texas, 18-year old Alexandre …
A sixth grader and a 71-year old were killed today in separate hunting accidents. Both were shot by relatives. Daisy Grace Lynn George, age 11, was shot by her father in Hallsville, Texas while he was hunting with a high-powered rifle. Rescuers arrived on the scene, but rescue helicopters were grounded due to poor weather. …
A ten-year old innocent bystander was one of three people injured when gang-related gun violence broke out on the day after Thanksgiving at a crowded Durham, North Carolina mall. His injuries are not considered life threatening. The shooting led to a mass evacuation, but no suspects were arrested. The shooting was one of two triple …
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 Memphis, Tennessee, a man accidentally shot himself at a local Express Inn hotel. He was taken to Regional One Hospital in critical condition. Police did not say whether he would face charges. In Lauderhill, Florida, shooting broke out on the street. A man several houses down from where the shooting occurred was grazed by …
A 65-year old Minnesota man was shot in a hunting accident in Northwestern Wisconsin today. Rescue workers arrived too late to revive him. No other circumstances of the accident were reported. Source: Associated Press, “Minnesota Man Dies in Apparent Hunting Accident in Wisconsin,” Fox News 11 (November 24, 2021).
Two Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania children, a four-year old and a five-year old, were shot and killed in separate gun accidents today. The four-year old, apparently found a loaded gun in his home and shot himself in the face. He died at the hospital. “My prayers go out to the family. I feel so bad for them. …
Eric Perez, a 10-year old in Shelbyville, Kentucky, died today in a shooting that appears to authorities to have been accidental. “He was just a fun and energetic little boy — he did his own little thing, that’s why it’s so shocking,” said a neighbor. A police spokesperson added, “[t]hat’s hard especially with the holidays …
In St. Louis, Missouri, a two-year old accidentally shot his father in the back with a rifle. The unidentified man, who was in his 20s, died at the scene. No further information is available. A Corry, Pennsylvania man, 64-year old Gary Hunt, was shot and killed while hunting bear with a friend. According to an …
Police reported accidental shootings today in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Chicago, Illinois, two American cities already notably suffering from the ongoing pandemic of gun violence. In Milwaukee, a 69-year old woman was struck by a random round fired outside her home. Her suffered serious injuries, but is in stable condition at the hospital according to a …
For the second day in a row, a law enforcement officer was shot in a training accident. A correction officer requalifying on her weapon at a training facility in Cedar Grove, New Jersey was reportedly struck in the buttocks when her weapon misfired. Her name was not released and she is expected to be OK. …
In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a two-year old boy found a gun next to a bed in his home and shot himself in the stomach. The bullet exited through the boy’s back. The boy’s parents drove him to hospital, where he is listed in stable condition. “Yet another one of our precious children has suffered a critical …
Quadarrien Simmons, age 19, of Perry, Georgia, was accidentally shot and killed in a car when two teenagers in the backseat accidentally discharged a gun. The fired round passed through the back of his seat before it struck him. A local police Captain said that a 19-year-old named Tyrese Brown of Fort Valley and 17-year-old …
In Poughkeepsie, New York, two teenagers fired guns outside a Poughkeepsie High School. A 13-year old with a semiautomatic pistol and a 15-year old were later arrested after fleeing on foot. Several shell casings were found near the school and several vehicles were hit. A short time later, a 19-year old, apparently the victim of …
An innocent bystander in Houston, Texas was accidentally shot and killed today in a 2:00 AM firefight between security guards and a reckless driver. It is unclear if the driver was armed. He was reportedly driving dangerously in a parking lot and had injured two people. The women was killed when security guards confronted …
Kayden Jones, age 8, of Atlanta, Georgia was accidentally shot and killed at his home. Family and friends released red and blue balloons on Sunday at a vigil in his honor. “We’ve been crying all night, all morning,” a neighbor said. “How can you constantly keep trying to explain and get another seven or eight-year-old …
Three common types of gun accidents were illustrated on Friday. In Meeker County, Minnesota, Mike Hendrickson, a hunter, unintentionally fired a gun into his thigh while climbing a tree stand. He was airlifted to the hospital after a tourniquet was applied at the scene of the accident. “His first surgery revealed significant loss of tissue, …
Bystanders were injured in three shootings today. In Chicago, Illinois, a one-year old was shot in the arm while sitting in a car outside a Walgreens store. Two men sitting in another car were also shot. “This is so sad. This s— has to stop, but nobody is doing anything,” said a woman who was …
An off-duty Upper Marlboro, Maryland police officer accidentally shot herself while reporting to a purported crime scene. Following the accident, she was taken to the hospital for surgery and is now in stable condition. According to the report, she responded to an argument at a local barbershop and believed there was a robbery in progress. …
There were accidental shooting deaths today in Beaumont, Texas, where an 18-year old boy died at home and in Kansas City, Missouri, where a woman died on the street. Few details were reported. And in Clark County, Illinois, a child accidentally shot their father while the two were walking in the woods. Sheriff’s deputies called …
Elizabeth Newton Smith, a 59-year old woman in McColl, South Carolina was arrested and charged with involuntary manslaughter after a rifle purportedly fell and discharged on the porch of her home. David Williams, age 58, was found dead at the scene. If the rifle fell and discharged, any claim that the rifle was defective by …
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 …
Jasper Wu, of Fremont, California, was just shy of his second birthday when he was struck and killed by a stray bullet while traveling with his family on Interstate 880 in Oakland. The round was part of an exchange of gunfire between two vehicles traveling in the other direction. No one besides Jasper was struck …
For the second time in a week, there was a gun accident at a gun shop. Today’s shooting at Superior Pawn and Gun in Virginia Beach, Virginia, follows an incident on Tuesday in Charleston, South Carolina in which a gun store employee was killed. Few details were reported about today’s incident, other than it was …
In the Bronx, New York, a woman was hit in the leg by a stray bullet while pushing her 2-year old in a stroller down the street. The baby was not hurt. The shooter, who was involved in an argument with another man, who also pulled a gun, is wanted by police. Source: Liam Quigley, …
In an illustration of how even an accidental shooting can lead to a vicious cycle of violence, four people in Des Moines, Iowa were injured when gunfire erupted at a vigil for an accidental shooting victim. The original accident occurred on March 6, 2021, when Thomas Ivy accidently shot and killed 16-year old Elijah Brown-Townsend …
Jon Whitley, a Charleston, South Carolina gun store owner accidentally shot and killed an employee after mistaking his personal handgun for a bb gun. The accident victim, Stefan Mrgan, age 36, died shortly after officers arrived at the gun store, Coastal Firearms. “A witness told Deputies he saw the two men having a normal conversation, …
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 …
Two teenagers were accidentally shot in gun accidents on Halloween. One has died and the other is hospitalized. A Denver, Colorado teenager is in custody after another juvenile was shot and killed in a gun accident at a local home. A 17-year old is in custody and is being investigated for manslaughter. The police have …
A 17-year old Tallahassee, Florida girl was arrested and charged with manslaughter after she and a group of kids were passing around a gun in a local apartment. It apparently went off while she was holding it and a 17-year old boy was killed. The news report does not say how the teenagers got the …
A three-year old in Columbia, South Carolina shot and killed herself today. No other details are available. Authorities have not said how the child got the gun. Nor do they question why there are no laws or regulations that would prevent gun designs that make it simple for a toddler to pull a trigger. Source: …
A Houston, Texas mom sent her ten-year old son and his eleven-year old cousin to retrieve something from her car. The boys found a loaded gun in the vehicle and, while playing with it, the ten-year old was shot and killed. Police are uncertain which of the boys was handling the gun when it went …
Dawson McGrath, an Addison, Vermont man died today of a “non-suspicious gunshot.” Police are continuing to investigate, but they have preliminarily concluded that McGrath’s gunshot wound was accidental and self-inflicted. He was transferred by helicopter to Vermont Medical Center and was originally listed in critical condition, but he was later pronounced dead at the hospital. …
Kemar D. Hinton, age 4, of Greensboro, Alabama, shot and killed himself today with a loaded gun he found in his home. “When a tender age child is involved, it’s just near and dear to my heart that we find out the truth. But like I said, based on the evidence we have so far, …
In Bradley County, Tennessee, a two-year old child found a loaded gun at home, shot themself in the chest, and was later pronounced dead at the local hospital. “A preliminary investigation discovered that the firearm had been left unsecured and the child was able to have access to the weapon.” The child’s father, Matthew Jenkins, …
In Ann Arbor, Michigan, a 16-month old child was shot in the head by a sibling, but is expected to survive. “He is breathing on his own,” his grandmother told a local news station. There were four children at home at the time of the accident. The victim was the youngest and the oldest was …
15-year old Kamm VanGilder of Jeffersonville, Indiana was riding with a former Jeffersonville police officer when the man’s rifle accidentally discharged and VanGilder was killed. The former officer was not identified. An autopsy has confirmed that the shooting was accidental, but the investigation is ongoing. In an incident at a San Antonio, Texas mall, two …
Authorities in Clinton Township, Michigan are expected to charge a man whose gun went off during a physical altercation with his younger brother. The two men were wrestling on the floor when the gun fired and the younger man was killed. The precise circumstances causing the gun to go off are unclear. Although the police …
The Rust Movie Set and The Death of Halyna Hutchins Horrific gun accidents happen in this country every day, 365 days a year. Halyna Hutchins’ accidental death today on a New Mexico movie set should prompt a larger discussion about regulating guns for safety and about the level of gun safety training necessary to prevent …
A Chicago, Illinois police officer, engaged in a struggle with an unarmed suspect, accidentally fired his service weapon and struck two other officers. One was shot in the arm and the other in the shoulder. Both officers are reported to be in good condition. A gun was later found in the suspect’s car. Source: Charlie …
Kyleek Williams of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, age 17, was playing with semi-automatic guns with a friend when one of the guns went off. Kyleek was struck in the stomach and later died at the hospital. Police have announced that there is a suspect in custody, though the nature of the charge is unclear. Kyleek is …
In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Jeffrey Carter, age 65, was struck in the head and killed by a stray bullet while driving near a local high school. He crashed his SUV off the road at the time of the shooting. A 16-year old boy was also struck in the head by gunfire and taken to the hospital …
In West Point, Georgia, a 17-year old and her 23-year sister were playing with a pistol when it fired. They didn’t know the gun was loaded. The 17-year old died of a single gunshot wound to the head. Although there is an ongoing investigation, Police have concluded that the shooting was accidental. There is no …
In Greenville, South Carolina, a 4-year old died in a gun accident today. The child passed away at the hospital and no further details are available. According to the local Sheriff’s office, “there is no threat to the community.” Source: Freeman Stoddard, Thomas Gore, “4-year-old Child Dies from Accidental Gunshot, Coroner’s Office Confirms” Fox Carolina …
In Mooers, New York, a man was hospitalized after a firearm accident. The case remains under investigation, according to the report, and there is no continuing threat of harm to public safety. Source: “Possible Firearm Accident in Mooers,” Press-Republican (October 16, 2021).
An 18-year old Peoria, Arizona man was shot and killed by a friend who was cleaning his gun inside a local apartment. The Peoria police said that the man who fired the fatal shot was reassembling his gun after cleaning it and that it still had a round in the chamber. No other information about …
Seattle, Washington police concluded that a man who accidentally fired a pistol shot into his leg had used a gun that was reported stolen in 1997. The man initially claimed to have been shot by people who were trying to sell him drugs. Other witnesses told police that the man was playing with the gun …
In Houston, Texas, a man accidentally shot his friend in the abdomen tonight while celebrating the Astros victory over the Chicago White Sox. According to the report, the celebration went “a little too far.” A group of people watching the game told police that they would dry fire their weapons whenever the Astros scored a …
A Nashville, Tennessee woman heard an argument in the apartment below, then a loud pop, followed by pain in her foot. She had been struck by a round that passed through the floor of her apartment. According to the report, “[o]fficers found the apartment below the victim’s empty with the door slightly open, and a bullet …
At least 7 people unintentionally shot themselves or others with guns today in incidents across the country. In Ellisville Mississippi, a man accidentally shot himself in the hand. The Sheriff’s Department said that the incident occurred in a community residence. A Temple Hills, Maryland 16-year old is hospitalized after shooting himself accidentally at the local …
The Problem of Relying on a Gun Seller as an “Expert” on Gun Safety According to the original report, police concluded that an Independence, Missouri eight-year old found a gun in his family’s home and shot himself. He was transported to the hospital where he later died. “We are just trying to put all the …
In Cocoa Beach, Florida, a teenager died of an accidental gunshot wound after mishandling a gun. The child was taken from the local apartment where the accident happened to Cape Canaveral Hospital and was pronounced dead. Police have not released the teenager’s name, age or gender. Nor is there information about the circumstances of the …
An Orlando, Florida man shot himself in the leg in a shooting range parking lot today while clearing his gun. He was inside a vehicle outside “Shooter’s World” when the accident occurred. Source: “Police: Man Clearing Gun Shot Self in Leg Outside Orlando Range,” Fox 35 (October 8, 2021).
In Minneapolis, Minnesota, Autumn Merrick, age 18, was killed when a shoot-out between people in two moving vehicles resulted in a fiery crash on a local sidewalk. Merrick, an innocent bystander, was riding a scooter on the sidewalk where the crash occurred. Her death was ruled a homicide, but no arrests have been made. “It …
A three-year old and a four year old were injured today by their gun-owning parents’ negligence. This is at least the fourth day in a row that young children were injured in gun accidents. You can track the links to the other stories here. In Houston, Texas, a three year-old was shot in the upper …
For the third day in a row, a baby was shot when an adult mishandled a gun. In this instance, a one year old Winston-Salem, North Carolina girl was shot in the hand by one of her parents. She was taken to the hospital and is expected to survive. Also today, Shawn Santiago, a 39-year …
Once again, a baby girl was injured today in a gun accident. The baby’s mother, Victoria Tejeda, age 20, of Ramona, California and her boyfriend, Roman Estrada, age 18, were both arrested after the incident, in which Estrada accidentally fired a gun and shot the baby in the leg. Both Tejeda and Estrada were charged …
In Auburn, Alabama, a 13-month old girl was shot in the upper torso and killed. Witnesses remained at the scene and were cooperating with police. Later, Michael A. Thomas, one of the adults present at the at the time of the incident was arrested and charged with manslaughter, possession of Marijuana 1st degree, three counts …
Two gun owners accidentally shot themselves today and were taken to hospitals for treatment. In Omaha, Nebraska shot himself in the leg with .22 caliber pistol twice. He is said to be suffering from dementia. It is unclear why he was still in possession of a gun. And in Gold Hill, North Carolina, a man …
Tylin Parker, a Newton, Mississippi six-year old was airlifted to the hospital after being shot in the leg by a seven-year old first grader who had brought a gun to school in his backpack. According to police, the gun went off accidentally just as the children were getting out of school. Both how the child …
A Soso, Mississippi mother accidentally shot and killed her own teenage son when firing a warning shot to break up a confrontation between the boy and her boyfriend. Her son was running out the door chasing her boyfriend when the shot was fired, she told investigators. The boy, 16-year old Mikeal Smith, died at the …
Garrick Baker,an intoxicated Westfield, Indiana man shot and killed his stepson, age 18, who was sleeping on a couch at the time of the incident. According to the report, the man was handling a gun in his living room while “presumed to be intoxicated.” It went off. Baker was arrested and charged with criminal recklessness. …
A hunter looking for turkey accidentally shot a woman today in Leeds, Maine “at the end of Walton Way.” It is unclear if hunting was legal in that area. The hunter remained at the scene to provide first aid until emergency personnel arrived and the woman is in stable condition at the hospital. There is …
Two remarkably similar recent incidents in Port Arthur, Texas illustrate the fine line between shootings that police treat as accidental and those that are treated as intentional. When circumstances are murky, a shooter who is forthcoming about how an incident took place appears less likely to be treated as a deliberate actor. In the more …
In LaCrosse County, Wisconsin, the sheriff’s office is investigating an accidental shooting that occured after 1 A.M. at a French Island bar. A man was shot in the leg by another patron he did not know. The circumstances of the accident are unclear. Source: Jourdan Vian, “Police: Accidental Shooting Reported on French Island,” news8000.com (September …
In Pawtucket, Rhode Island, a teenager was shot in the leg by an unknown person. She was apparently an innocent bystander to other people’s gun violence. She is at least the fourth child shot this week in an incident involving violence committed by others. None of the reports state that an arrest has been made …
A group of Salem, Oregon teenagers were playing with a pair of guns in a local park when one of them was shot. The boy was struck below the waist and was taken to a local hospital. It is unclear how the group of kids, who were between ages 13 and 16, had access to …
A two-year old in Waco, Texas shot himself in the head with a loaded gun he found in his uncle’s backpack. He later died at the hospital. After the incident, the boy’s uncle, Derrick Pipkins, left the scene with the gun. Pipkins was later arrested and charged with tampering with evidence. Source: Felicia Cardenas, “Waco …
There were at least four different innocent bystander shootings today. The unintended consequences of intentional shootings continue to grow in proportion to the expansion of gun violence in the United States. In Cincinnati, Ohio, an 11-year old boy was struck in his bedroom while playing video games. The rounds that passed into his room were …
An Urbana, Illinois woman was shot in the neck when a person sitting behind her in a vehicle negligently discharged a firearm. The shooter, Devontre Newbill, was arrested on preliminary charges of discharge of a firearm and possession of a stolen firearm by a convicted felon. Newbill and the injured woman were on their way …
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Minimal details were reported about two gun accidents that occurred today. The Winter Park, Colorado police department reported that Eric Van Geet, age 25, was arrested and charged with second degree assault and reckless endangerment after he picked up a .22 caliber revolver inside a local apartment, cocked it, and pulled the trigger. He shot …
Every type of gun safety problem was on display in gun accidents that occurred today. All of today’s accidents are tragic, but none more so than the death of a Texas two-year old in Lawrence, Kansas who was shot in the chest while visiting at a local home. Details of the circumstances of the accident …
Austin Salyer, a Texas State University student, was shot and killed while sleeping when a gun was negligently discharged in a neighboring apartment. Police in San Marcos, Texas have identified and interviewed the shooter, but have not released the shooter’s name pending further investigation. They have offered their deepest condolences to Salyer’s family. Source: Maeve …
In Cleveland, Ohio, a 6-year old boy found his uncle’s gun under a bed and accidentally shot himself in the hand. The boy’s uncle was arrested and charged with child endangerment. The boy was taken for emergency treatment at the hospital. Source: Adam Ferrise, “6-year-old Boy Accidentally Shoots Self with Uncle’s Gun in Cleveland, Police …
A $5.5 million settlement was reached in connection with a gun accident that occurred at a Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania shooting range two years ago today. The shooting occurred during a training exercise organized by a variety of organizations and individuals who were then named as defendants in the lawsuit. The shooter, who was supposed to be …
Johnnel Green of Marietta, Georgia was arrested today after leaving a loaded semi-automatic pistol on a patio chair at a home he was visiting. Two cousins, a four-year old and a two-year old, found the gun. The four-year old apparently fired a single round and both children were injured. After the incident, Green apparently left …
In Salisbury, North Carolina, teenage boys were passing a gun around as they played video games. A 13-year old was holding the gun when it went off and a 14 year-old boy was killed. According to police, the gun was stolen. The mother of the 13-year old shooter told a reporter, “[n]one of them should …
In Memphis, Tennessee, two teenagers have been charged with crimes after a third teenager was unintentionally shot to death. None of the children have been identified. The report suggests that a 16-year old boy and girl were hanging out with a 17-year old. The 16-year old boy apparently produced a gun and provided it to …
A Macon, Georgia 4-year old shot and killed himself today with a gun he found in his home. The boy’s grandmother, Kawana Liggins, was arrested and charged with tampering with evidence. Two boys, aged 14 and 16 were interviewed by police because they apparently had brought the gun into the home. According to the report, …
For the second time in just over two years, a Horn Lake, Mississippi child was shot and killed in a gun accident. In both cases, the child was shot by an older sibling. Horn Lake is a city of just 27,000 people. In today’s incident, few details have been released other than that police have …
A Louisville, Kentucky police officer who was cleaning his service weapon in the property room at the station accidentally shot himself in the stomach. He is recovering at the hospital according to the report. Query whether the officer’s gun was a Glock or a similar pistol that requires a trigger pull as part of the …
A Houston, Texas 23-year old was accidentally shot and killed by her boyfriend today. Houston police concluded that the man had removed a pistol from his waistband and was unloading the gun when it went off. Their determination was apparently based on witness statements. There is no report about whether the trigger was pulled in …