Reports of Unintended Gun Violence Collected from Media Reports Across the United States
Three children and an adult were killed in gun accidents today. The adult was shot to death by his two-year old child. Each of the news stories marking these deaths was brief: In Ooltewah, Tennessee, Jermaine Vincent, a three-year old, found a gun that a family friend had brought to his home and fatally shot …
20-year old Keaton Sexton died today in Frankfort, Kentucky when a bullet passed through his apartment wall. Another 20-year-old, Trevor Fridenmaker, of Frankfort, was handling a pistol in the next apartment when it accidentally discharged. “There’s no belief there was any ill intent,” a Police Captain said. “Through investigation, it was determined the round that …
A man was killed today in an accidental shooting on a Houston, Texas street. According to authorities, a group of friends had congregated despite coronavirus related social distancing concerns and were playing with a gun when it when off. The deceased man was in his 20’s. Source: “Man May Have Been Playing with Gun When …
In Colonie, New York, Denzel Grimes, a 29-year old man, accidentally shot and killed himself in a hotel with a 9-mm pistol. The gun apparently discharged and struck Mr. Grimes in the groin. He later died of the wound. Police identified Grimes’s gun as a “Jennings/Bryco Arms, Model 59,” a type of cheap handgun that …
There was a fatal gun accident today in Katy, Texas. An unidentified woman was accidentally shot and killed when two friends were handling a gun. According to a report, the women asked to see the gun and it went off while it was being handed to her. The men remained on the scene and attempted …
In another fatal gun accident, an unidentified 19-year old Goose Creek, South Carolina man is dead after he was shot inside a local home. According to investigators, the “shooter was trying to show the victim how to clean the weapon but failed to ensure the gun was empty, leading to the fatal shot.” The shooter …
In Chandler, Arizona, Jordan Taylor was arrested after accidentally shooting his wife. According to Taylor, he and his wife were new gun owners. One of their guns fired while he was cleaning it and struck his wife in the chest. She later died at the hospital. Taylor claimed that the same weapon had also accidentally …
On Thursday night, 20-year old Zion Lofton shot and killed his twin brother Zain in their home in Indianapolis, Indiana. Zion accidentally fired a shot into the floor in his upstairs bedroom and the bullet struck his brother who was downstairs at the time. The police concluded that the shooting was an accident. Zion accepted …
In Rome, Alabama, James Triston Williams, a 19-year old man, was accidentally shot and killed by his 20-year old friend while they were playing with a gun. The shooter, Cameron Andrew Thornton, is charged with involuntary manslaughter. Witnesses told police, “Thornton had the gun pointed at Williams’ chest. When Williams reached for the weapon, Thornton …
Daryl Gunnison, a 28-year old Atlanta, Georgia man was shot by his girlfriend, who was playing with a gun. This is the second report of a serious gun accident in Atlanta in two days. Gunnison was shot in the chest. He was taken to the hospital for treatment of his injuries, where he later died. …
After accidentally shooting a woman in Paris, Tennessee, the shooter apparently took his own life. After the accident, the shooter accompanied the woman to the hospital. She was admitted and is in stable condition. The man went missing and then shot himself in the hospital’s emergency medical services building. “We have no indication that it …
Ashley James, a 19-year old who recently starred on the Green Run High School basketball team in Chesapeake, Virginia, was shot and killed today in an accidental shooting. He and another teen were handling a gun when it went off. James received emergency care, but died from his wound. No further information about the nature …
Malinda Broyles of Fairmount West Virginia died after being accidentally shot in the neck. Gene McIntosh was reportedly manipulating the action on his rifle when the gun fired. Although Mr. McIntosh was charged with wanton endangerment and the circumstances of the accident are still being investigated, a rifle should not fire unless the trigger is …
In Brooksville, Florida, an unidentified man accidentally shot and killed himself while playing with a gun. He was waiting for a haircut at the time. The sheriff’s office called the incident a “horrible accident.” The make and model of the gun that accidentally fired was not released. Source: Associated Press, “Florida Man Waiting for Haircut …
20-year old Betty Spado of Pendleton, South Carolina died after being shot when a gun discharged inside her apartment. Her boyfriend and two other men were handling guns while visiting when one of the guns went off. The coroner ruled her death an accident. Source: Live 5 Web Staff, “S.C. Woman Killed After Gun Misfires …
An unidentified man died today after accidentally shooting himself while in line at the Supreme Bean coffee shop in Spokane, Washington. No further information about the accident has been reported. An investigation is ongoing. On the other side of the country, in Cedartown, Georgia, at Zorba’s restaurant, a man accidentally shot himself in the parking …
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 …
20-year old Gregory Lee Miller, Jr. of Lexington Kentucky died today of a gunshot wound. 25-year old Jaquan St. Louis has been arrested and charged with reckless homicide. According to police, St. Louis believed the gun was unloaded when he pointed it at Miller. Source: “Arrest Made in Lexington’s First Homicide of 2020, Victim Identified,” …
Gringo Tacos + Burgers Restaurant In St. Louis, Missouri closed early on Sunday after an employee of the restaurant accidentally shot and killed himself while changing clothes in the bathroom. Police said the shooting is not suspicious. It is unclear whether the restaurant prohibited guns on the premises. Employees declined to comment, stating that 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. …
As the clock struck midnight on New Years eve, 61-year old Philippa Ashford was struck and killed by a stray bullet in Harris County, Texas. Police believe that the round was fired in celebration of the new year by an unidentified person in the neighborhood. The shooter was not a member of Ms. Ashford’s family. …
In Savannah Tennessee, 86-year old Lawrence Smith accidentally shot himself in the leg while sitting in his car outside a gun store. Police administered aid, but Mr. Smith later died of his wound at the hospital. Source: Eyewitness New Staff, “Police: Man Dies Following Accidental Shooting,” WBBJ 7 Eyewitness News (December 31, 2019).
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 …
Shawn Patrick Burse, 18, was arraigned today on a charge of involuntary manslaughter in Greenwood, South Carolina after his pregnant girlfriend, Teresa Michelle Parkman, died from a gunshot wound received while they were cleaning a rifle together. Witnesses said there was no ill will and that there appeared to be no fight or conflict before …
The Meadville Tribune in Meadville, Pennsylvania reported today that 19-year old Jacob S. Smith accidentally shot himself to death in a hunting accident. According to the local coroner, “Smith was removing items from a hunting sled when his shotgun accidentally went off with shotgun pellets striking Smith in the abdomen.” Smith was a sophomore majoring …
Eric Rosenbrock, a seventh grade science teacher in Lake George, New York, was sentenced to five-years probation for accidentally shooting and killing his wife, Ashley. Mr. Rosenbrock was oiling a loaded 9-mm pistol to prepare for a hunting trip when it went off. He was convicted of criminally negligent homicide after a plea bargain. Ashley …