In Murray, New York, a 50-year old man with an unholstered Ruger semiautomatic pistol in the pocket of his shorts accidentally shot himself in the thigh while repositioning trailers. The accident occurred when the man was putting on his seatbelt. Police took the man to the hospital for treatment. Source: “Orleans County: Man Accidentally Shot …
Category: Adult Injury
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2021
In Casa Grande, Arizona,a five-year old boy who found a loaded handgun in his apartment, accidentally shot and killed his mother, Michele Cox, today. Ms. Cox’s three other children and her boyfriend were home at the time of the incident. After the fact, a police department statement reminded the public in a generic way about …
Adult Injury Child Injury (18 and Under) Child Under 18 (as Shooter) Missouri Oklahoma Ongoing Investigation
THURSDAY, AUGUST 26, 2021
Four people were injured by two bullets in accidental shootings today. In Springer, Oklahoma, the injuries appear to have been caused by a defective firearm. A woman attempting to shoot a skunk from her front porch was maneuvering the slide on a gun when it fired. The round passed through her hand and struck her …
SUNDAY, AUGUST 22, 2021
In Indianapolis, Indiana, a man struggling with a mental health crisis lunged for an officer’s gun while waiting for an ambulance. The gun was holstered at the time of the incident. In the struggle over the gun, the officer was shot in the leg and the man he struggled with was shot in the hand. …
MONDAY, AUGUST 16, 2021
In San Antonio, Texas, a woman was shot in the head when a bullet passed through a wall from the next apartment. Her neighbor claimed to be sleeping with a gun nearby that fired when he moved in his sleep. The woman’s wound is not considered life-threatening. There is no word yet about whether the …
Adult Arrested Adult Death Adult Injury Child Death (18 and Under) Child Injury (18 and Under) Child Under 18 (as Shooter) Louisiana Mississippi North Carolina Ohio Ongoing Investigation
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 28, 2021
A San Antonio, Texas woman who heard gunshots and retrieved her gun to protect herself shot herself in the leg while putting the gun away. She was taken to the hospital in stable condition. Source: “Woman Hears Gunshots, Pulls Out Gun for Protection, Shoots Herself Putting Gun Away,” News4SA (July 29, 2021).
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 …
TUESDAY, JULY 20, 2021
In Westport, Massachusetts, an off-duty police officer shot himself in the thigh with a .40 caliber round while training with his gun at a local firing range. According to the report, the incident occurred while he was “putting in or taking his gun out of the holster.” The officer’s injury was described as “minor” but …
Adult Arrested Adult Injury Child Injury (18 and Under) Child Under 18 (as Shooter) Kansas Louisiana Ongoing Investigation
WEDNESDAY, JULY 14, 2021
In Wichita, Kansas, a three-year old found a gun and shot herself and her father while he was sleeping. The girl was struck in the hand and her father was struck in the leg. Both were treated at the hospital. Police are investigating how the firearm was stored. During the investigation, three other children have …
Adult Injury Child Death (18 and Under) Child Injury (18 and Under) Child Under 18 (as Shooter) Florida North Carolina Ongoing Investigation South Dakota Virginia
SUNDAY, JULY 4, 2021
Although there were many hundreds of incidents of gun violence on Independence Day, there were thankfully no deaths clearly associated with celebratory gunfire. However, several people were injured in such incidents across the country. Also today, a six-year old Knoxville, Tennessee boy found a gun and shot himself to death. In Raleigh North Carolina, Alexandria …
Adult Injury California Child Injury (18 and Under) Child Under 18 (as Shooter) New York No Charges Filed Ohio Ongoing Investigation
SUNDAY, JUNE 27, 2021
In Manhattan, New York, a newly commissioned off-duty New Jersey trooper accidentally fired a round on a Penn Station train platform while adjusting his holster. He shot himself once in the leg and was treated at the hospital. No word about whether the gun had a manual safety and whether it was deployed. There …
Adult Injury Child Death (18 and Under) Child Under 18 (as Shooter) Illinois New Hampshire Ongoing Investigation
FRIDAY, JUNE 25, 2021
A child, believed to be 6 or 7 years old, shot themselves in their Burbank, Illinois home today, sometime in the mid-afternoon. No details of the circumstances of the accident were released. In Milton, New Hampshire a 32-year old man was shot in the head by his 8-year old nephew while hunting chipmunks. “It’s not …
THURSDAY, JUNE 24, 2021
A Hopkinsville, Kentucky 15-year old was critically injured in a gun accident today. He was hospitalized locally with critical injuries, but was expected to be transferred by helicopter to Nashville for further treatment. No details of the circumstances of the accident were released. In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a city riven by recent gun violence, a 12-year …
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 23, 2021
In Surry County, North Carolina, two Sheriff’s deputies were injured due to “accidental discharge of a firearm” during a training exercise at a local firing range. Both deputies were treated for minor injuries and the Sheriff’s department has opened an internal investigation. Source: Paul Choate, “2 Surry County Deputies Injured by ‘Accidental Discharge of a …
SUNDAY, JUNE 20, 2021
As gun violence continues unabated across America, a 32-year old Chicago, Illinois man who was simply standing on a sidewalk in Humboldt Park was shot in the back. Also in the park, a 28-year old women was shot in the head while she was driving a car, causing her to crash. Both victims are hospitalized, …
Adult Arrested Adult Injury Child Injury (18 and Under) Colorado New York Ongoing Investigation Pennsylvania
SATURDAY, JUNE 19, 2021
Six women and a toddler were struck by stray bullets in four incidents today. Although the shooters may have had violent intent, all of the women struck were not intended targets. In Aurora, Colorado, numerous shots were fired by two or more shooters outside an apartment complex. Two of the rounds passed into the building. …
Adult Injury Child Injury (18 and Under) Child Under 18 (as Shooter) Illinois Juvenile Arrested North Carolina Ongoing Investigation
FRIDAY, JUNE 18, 2021
Two women were severely injured today when men they were with mishandled guns. An 18-year old Danville, Illinois woman is in stable condition after she was accidentally shot in the chest by her 16-year old boyfriend who mishandled a handgun. The boyfriend was taken into custody on charges of reckless discharge of a firearm and …
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 16, 2021
In an incident caught on video and later broadcast on local television, a Newbury, Ohio man accidentally shot himself in the face with a pistol at a local gun range. His injuries apparently were not life threatening. In Crowley, Louisiana two teenagers were handling a gun when it discharged. One of them was shot in …
Adult Arrested Adult Death Adult Injury Child Injury (18 and Under) Connecticut Illinois Kansas Massachusetts No Charges Filed Ongoing Investigation Texas
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 …
Adult Injury Child Injury (18 and Under) Connecticut Georgia Juvenile Arrested Michigan Ongoing Investigation
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 2021
In Americus, Georgia, a 16-year old boy was listed in critical condition after being accidentally shot. He and a group of boys were horsing around with a gun on the back deck of a local home. One of the boys, Jordan Hamilton, age 17, was arrested and charged with reckless conduct. In Waterbury, Connecticut, a …
SATURDAY, JUNE 5, 2021
A Mission Bend, Texas woman who went to her daughter’s home after an argument with her husband was shot multiple times by her son-in-law. He believed she was an intruder. According to the report, the 43-year old woman, who had been drinking, was banging on the back door when her son-in-law fired multiple shots through …
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 …
SUNDAY, MAY 30, 2021
In Dallas, Texas, a woman who was 8-months pregnant was struck by gunfire while leaving church today. She was an innocent bystander as two groups of men began firing at each other across the parking lot outside the church. The woman was rushed to the hospital where she was treated for a gunshot wound and …
Adult Death Adult Injury Child Injury (18 and Under) Child Under 18 (as Shooter) Florida Illinois Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maryland Michigan Ohio Ongoing Investigation
WEDNESDAY, MAY 19, 2021
In Akron, Ohio, a 13-year old boy accidentally shot a 15-year old girl. The boy was handling a gun in the back seat of a car when it fired. The round passed through a seat and struck the girl who suffered non-life threatening injuries. Also today, more than 10 innocent bystanders were shot in gun …
TUESDAY, MAY 18, 2021
At a Desoto, Texas Walmart, one person was injured when a concealed weapon carried by another Walmart customer accidentally discharged. The victim was treated at the hospital for injuries that were not considered life-threatening. According to police, the person whose weapon fired left the premises before they arrived. When they tracked down the shooter, they …
WEDNESDAY, MAY 12, 2021
Three people were injured when a Bath, Maine two-year old found a loaded 9 mm pistol on a nightstand in his parent’s bedroom. According to a report of the incident, the boy’s mother “sustained a ‘clean gunshot wound’ to her leg and the father, 25, sustained a minor injury to the back of his head. …
Adult Arrested Adult Injury Child Injury (18 and Under) Montana North Carolina Ongoing Investigation
WEDNESDAY, MAY 5, 2021
A 34-year old Burlington, North Carolina woman was arrested for failing to secure a firearm “to protect a minor” after a 15-year old boy was accidentally shot. The incident involved three children who gained access to the woman’s gun. The boy was taken to the hospital with unspecified injuries. In Helena, Montana, a 68-year old …
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 28, 2021
A Hampton, Virginia press release issued by the Hampton Police Department provides the following report which leaves unclear whether the gun was discharged intentionally or unintentionally: At approximately 9:31 p.m., Public Safety Communications received a call in reference to a shooting that just occurred in the 100 block of Hamlet Lane. Upon arrival, officers located …
SATURDAY, APRIL 24, 2021
In Des Moines Iowa, a man who was cleaning his gun accidentally shot and injured a neighbor. The man’s injuries do not appear to be life threatening. Sources: “Police: Man Accidentally Shoots Neighbor While Cleaning His Gun,” weareiowa.com (April 24, 2021).
FRIDAY, APRIL 16, 2021
A Houston, Texas man may lose his leg after accidentally shooting himself. Police say the man was cleaning his gun when it went off. Source: “Man May Lose Leg after Accidental Shooting,” News 4 SA (April 16, 2021).
TUESDAY, APRIL 6, 2021
In Clendenin, West Virginia, Heather Marie Allen, age 30, was coyote hunting when she placed her loaded rifle up against her SUV. The rifle fell and discharged without a trigger pull, striking Allen in the leg. Her injuries are not expected to be life threatening. As a recent Violence Policy Center gun safety study noted, …
SUNDAY, APRIL 4, 2021
In an accident that appears to have been related to use of alcohol, a Cedar Falls, Iowa man was found on the street with a gunshot wound to his leg. Police applied a tourniquet until medical help arrived. Two other men were arrested at the scene of the accident, one on weapons charges and the …
SATURDAY, APRIL 3, 2021
At least two gun-owners accidentally shot themselves today in separate incidents. The first accident, in Columbus, Ohio, occurred when a man was cleaning his gun. He was taken to the hospital in stable condition. The other accident occurred at the Hawg Pen bar in Raleigh, North Carolina, where a man shot himself in the …
FRIDAY, APRIL 2, 2021
Ken Thomas of Wichita, Kansas was arrested and charged with two counts of aggravated battery after what appears to be a property-defense situation gone awry. Two teenagers were apparently trespassing at TreatCo, a pet treat factory that had been shuttered at some point in the past. Thomas, the business’s owner, fired a shotgun toward them, …
MONDAY, MARCH 29, 2021
The Burnett County sheriff’s department responded today when a Siren, Wisconsin man was shot inside a bar. The Siren police and the St. Croix tribal police also responded. Investigators determined that the shot that injured the bar patron had been accidentally fired in a house across the street. The round apparently pierced both the wall …
SUNDAY, MARCH 28, 2021
A man’s gun fell out of his pocket today while exiting a vehicle in a parking lot on Tiny Town Road in Clarksville, Tennessee. It drop-fired and struck him in the leg. He was taken to the hospital in unknown condition. The potential for any gun to be dropped is, of course, foreseeable. Some guns …
Adult Injury Alabama Child Injury (18 and Under) Child Under 18 (as Shooter) Mississippi Ohio Ongoing Investigation Texas
THURSDAY, MARCH 25, 2021
Two teenagers and a child were injured and hospitalized in separate gun accidents today. A 35-year old man and a 32-year old woman were also hospitalized after a fourth accident. In yet another unintentional shooting in central Ohio, an 18-year old who was playing with a gun was rushed to the hospital with life threatening …
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 24, 2021
Two men shot themselves in the leg today while holstering their guns, one in Nebraska and one in Ohio. Neither injury is considered life threatening, but both accidents would have been prevented by guns with external manual safeties, had they been deployed. A 33-year old Scottsbluff, Nebraska man was placed in a tourniquet by police …
SUNDAY, MARCH 21, 2021
One man accidentally shot himself and another shot a teenager while cleaning their guns today. Typically, such accidents can be prevented with load indicators, magazine safety disconnects, manual safeties or cleaning protocols that do not require a trigger pull. Remarkably many guns, including Glocks, require that the trigger be pulled for disassembly and cleaning, leading …
SATURDAY, MARCH 20, 2021
In Louisiana today, there were two different innocent bystander shootings. Three people were injured, and a five-year old child has died. In Shreveport, Louisiana, one of two men arguing in a hotel parking lot fired a gun. The bullet penetrated the wall of the hotel and struck a five-year old in the head and grazed …
THURSDAY, MARCH 18, 2021
In Four Oaks, North Carolina, a child riding in the back seat of a vehicle found a loaded gun and accidentally shot his mother in the face while she was driving. A Sheriff’s deputy called the shooting a “horrible accident” and “not a deliberate act.” The mother was rushed to the hospital, but her injuries …
MONDAY, MARCH 15, 2021
A 77-year old Fond du Lac, Wisconsin man accidentally shot himself in the hand while cleaning a gun. Police were alerted by a call from the hospital emergency room where the man was treated and released. Source: “FDL Man Injured In Gun-Cleaning Accident,” KFIZ AM 1450 (March 17, 2021).
SATURDAY, MARCH 13, 2021
One woman was killed and another injured in innocent bystander incidents today. There have been three such incidents in the last two days. In Waco, Texas, a woman was inside her apartment when she was struck and killed by a bullet fired in an incident outside her home. She was found later by her roommate. …
THURSDAY, MARCH 11, 2021
At a Richmond, Utah manufacturing facility, a 23-year old employee accidentally shot himself in the leg while cleaning his Glock during a break. He did not realize that the gun was loaded when he attempted to break it down. Police and paramedics responded at the scene. “This individual had fired his firearm about two weeks …
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 10, 2021
A Columbus, Ohio 12-year old and a Fairlawn, New Jersey 40-year old were injured in gun accidents today. The 40-year old was shot when his uncle handed him a Ruger pistol. The 12-year old was handling a gun in his home when it fired. Details are limited. Both individuals were taken to the hospital by …
FRIDAY, MARCH 5, 2021
At a Ceres, California gun range, a firearms instructor was holstering a gun during a training session when it fired. The 69-year old was struck in the thigh and taken to the hospital where he is in stable condition. Perhaps if the gun had an external manual safety that the instructor demonstrated for the class, …
THURSDAY, MARCH 4, 2021
In Holt, Michigan, a woman accidentally shot both herself and her boyfriend with a single round fired from her recently purchased handgun. She had removed the magazine from the weapon and did not realize that there was still a round in the chamber. Apparently, the gun had no magazine safety disconnect. Both the woman and …
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2021
Two gun accidents were announced on social media today. @MoCoPGNews tweeted that a Silver Spring, Maryland man shot himself in the shoulder while cleaning his gun. The extent of the man’s injuries were unknown. In Arlington, Texas, “Arlington Texas Crime” posted on its Facebook page that a man shot himself in the leg while unloading …
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2021
In Louisville, Kentucky, Michael McGreggor was arrested after an incident that he claimed was an accident. McGreggor said he was defending himself “by hitting the victim with the gun and that he never intended to fire it.” According to the arrest report, he asked several times whether the victim would be alright. McGreggor’s victim is …
Adult Arrested Adult Injury Child Death (18 and Under) Child Under 18 (as Shooter) Colorado Connecticut Juvenile Arrested
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2021
19-year old Kahlis Parker of Bridgeport, Connecticut, accidentally shot himself in the arm and then lied to police about the incident. Upon release from the hospital, Parker was arrested and charged with risk of injury to a minor, carrying a pistol without a permit, stealing a firearm, interfering with a police officer, illegal discharge of …
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2021
In Beaver Township, Ohio, police charged a hunter with “discharging a firearm near a protected premises” after a round he fired hit a man inside his home. According to the report, hunter Kasen Smith fired at a deer on protected land. The bullet passed through the wall of a nearby home and struck a man’s …
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2021
After investigating, police determined that a man found shot on the street in South Sioux City, Iowa had accidentally shot himself. The man had been taken by two good Samaritans to a local hospital. He is not facing charges. Nor will the unidentified man pay, apparently, for the various police and health care resources triggered …
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2021
Two 55-year old innocent bystanders were shot inside a New Orleans, Louisiana hospital when a woman outside fired a gun in an attempt to settle an argument. Both of the victims are expected to survive. A man and a woman were arguing on an on-ramp to the emergency room when the woman fired a gun …
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2021
In Indianapolis, Indiana, two people were hurt in a single shooting that police concluded was an accident. One of them was taken to the hospital. No other information is available. Source: “IMPD: 3 Hurt in Overnight Shootings, Including Attempted Robber,” Fox 59 (February 4, 2021).
SUNDAY, JANUARY 31, 2021
In Niles, Ohio, Nicklas Trkula, age 21, was attempting to shoot a man he believed to be his girlfriend’s lover. The bullet he fired passed through an apartment wall and struck another man in the leg while he was watching TV. Trkula fled the scene with his girlfriend, but was later tracked down by police …
SATURDAY, JANUARY 30, 2021
Nia Reyes of Phoenix, Arizona was attempting to shoot a shoplifter, but instead accidentally struck an Ace Hardware store employee in the leg. The employee was in pursuit of the shoplifter at the time of the incident. It is unclear why Ms. Reyes, age 45, believed it appropriate to use potentially lethal force on a …
SUNDAY, JANUARY 24, 2021
In Norton, Virginia, George Henry Sailers, IV, was charged with shooting his girlfriend in an accident that occurred while he was playing with his gun. Sailers allegedly told deputies that he had been trying to twirl a .22 Ruger pistol he had gotten for Christmas. While Sailers was trying to show how fast he could …
SATURDAY, JANUARY 23, 2021
Two innocent bystanders were accidentally shot at 2:06 A.M. on Bourbon Street in New Orleans. According to the report, two people opened fire on each other. Neither of the shooters was hit. The two victims were an 18-year old woman and a 57-year old man. Police are looking for the shooters. Source: “NOPD Investigating Double …
SATURDAY, JANUARY 16, 2021
In Washington Terrace, Utah, a 47-year old man and a 25-year old woman were examining a gun they believed was unloaded when it fired. Both were struck. The bullet first passed through the man’s leg, just below the knee, the Sheriff’s Office reported. It then entered the woman’s thigh where it lodged, breaking her femur …
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 …
SUNDAY, JANUARY 10, 2021
A Sun Prairie, Wisconsin man was hospitalized after shooting himself in the leg. The accident happened while he was parked in the lot of a Nitty Gritty restaurant. There is an active investigation. Source: Emily Hamer, “Man Hospitalized after Shooting Himself in Leg, Sun Prairie Police Say,” Wisconsin State Journal (January 10, 2021).
FRIDAY, JANUARY 8, 2021
In Fort Wayne, Indiana, a toddler found a gun and used it to shoot his mother. Her injuries are not considered life threatening, but local police are investigating “possible child neglect.” No other information is available. The incident is one of many recent incidents in Indiana in which young children have been involved in serious …
MONDAY, JANUARY 4, 2021
Indianapolis, Indiana police officers working part-time at Sam’s Club responded when they heard a shot fired inside the store. An armed shopper had accidentally discharged a gun and hit a store employee. The employee was grazed by the bullet and was hospitalized after the shooting in stable condition. The customer was not being charged with …
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2020
In Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, Richard James Russell was arrested for mishandling a gun after he accidentally shot his 21-year old son in the abdomen. Mr. Russell was showing the gun to his son at the time of the accident. Police also said that Russell initially misled them by claiming that his son had been shot …
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2020
In Woodbridge, Virginia, Kaitlyn Marie Roulten Ellis, a 29-year old mother of two, was arrested after she negligently discharged a gun while caring for her two daughters, a 1-month old and a four-year old. Ms. Roulten Ellis was handling a gun when it discharged and struck her in the arm. She was arrested after being …
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2020
On Venice Boulevard in Los Angeles, California, a homeless fired a gun into the air at about 10:00 PM on Christmas Eve and accidentally injured another homeless man. The victim is in stable condition at a local hospital. Police are investigating. Source: “Homeless Man Firing Gun Into Air Wounds Man,” LA.com (December 25, 2020).
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2020
In Greenville, South Carolina, there is an ongoing investigation of a gun accident at City Arsenal, a gun store and shooting range, that injured two people. An individual inside the store accidentally fired a shot that struck his hand and then struck a second person, according to the Sheriff’s Office. Both men are hospitalized in …
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2020
Three guns were accidentally fired today. Three injuries resulted. In Thomasville, Georgia, a man was moving his friend’s AR-15 rifle at the request of his friend’s grandmother, without knowing that the gun was loaded, when it inadvertently fired. A child was injured. There is no report on the victim’s condition. In Knightdale, North Carolina, a …
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2020
In New York City, New York a 41-year old innocent bystander was shot in the back by a round that was fired near West 64th Street. He is expected to survive. The shooting took place just a few blocks away from Lincoln Center, a cultural community that has more than five million visitors annually. The …
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2020
Two people were hurt today in another accident that could have been prevented by a magazine safety disconnect. Two cousins, ages 16 and 21, in Holly Hill, South Carolina were parked in a car when the older boy removed a pistol from his backpack and removed the magazine. Shortly afterward, the mother of the 16-year-old …
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2020
At the St. Lucie Shooting Center in Port St. Lucie, Florida, a bullet pierced a barrier and struck a shooting range employee. An off-duty police officer was present at the time. She and another officer applied a pair of tourniquets. The injured man was taken to the hospital where he was treated and released. A …
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2020
A hunting accident in Hartford, Arkansas killed 14-year old Newt Hodge and wounded his 21-year old brother. While the boys were loading a deer they had killed into a truck, a rifle leaning on the truck fell and discharged. The bullet passed through Newt and struck his brother Kasey in the shoulder. Arkansas Fish and …
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2020
In Houston, Texas, a man who was watching T.V. in his living room was accidentally shot in the face by a neighbor who was cleaning his gun. The bullet went through a wall and a window before it struck. The victim was flown to the hospital where he remains in critical condition. “There’s two pistols …
Adult Injury Arizona Child Injury (18 and Under) Child Under 18 (as Shooter) Idaho Massachusetts No Charges Filed Ongoing Investigation
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2020
Two men and a 10-year old boy were hospitalized with wounds suffered in accidental shootings today. Very little information is available about what happened in any of the gun accidents. In Bourne, Massachusetts on Cape Cod, a man was accidentally shot while cleaning his gun. He was hospitalized in Rhode Island with non-life threatening injuries. …
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2020
When a Kansas City, Kansas man lost control of his motorbike and crashed, a gun in his waistband fired and struck him in the hip. He was then also struck by another vehicle whose driver fled the scene of the accident. Police arriving at the scene discovered a bag of methamphetamine in a compartment of …
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2020
In Rockingham County, North Carolina, a man was arrested today for lying to investigators about a gun accident that happened on June 12, 2020. The man, Willie Thomas Hairston III, claimed that he was shot in a drive-by, when, in actuality, he had accidentally shot himself in the leg in a grocery store parking lot. …
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2020
A man and a boy were hospitalized today in Barboursville, West Virginia after a .50 caliber rifle malfunctioned and exploded. The man was shot in the hand and the boy was shot in the arm. The sheriff told a reporter that the two were “out shooting” when the accident occurred. Source: Chad Hedrick, WSAZ 3 …
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2020
At the Solid Rock Ministry Church in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, a ten-year old boy with a gun shot into the church and accidentally struck his grandmother twice. The boy found the gun in a living area inside the church building. Police said people were inside the church when the boy started firing rounds into the building …
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2020
Two young children were innocent victims of gun violence on Halloween. Both were bystanders when arguments broke out and shots were fired. In New York City, an 8-year old, her father and a third bystander were wounded by gunfire outside a supermarket. All three victims are in stable condition. According to a witness, three gunshots …
MONDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2020
In the tiny town of Somersworth, New Hampshire, two men, Raymond Picard and Joshua Conley, were charged with felonies for accidental discharge of their firearms in unrelated incidents. Somersworth has a total population of just 11,754. In the first incident, a 53-year old man was shot in the chest and taken to the hospital. He …
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2020
For the second time this week, a woman was mistaken for an intruder in the middle of the night and shot by her partner. In an incident that bears a startling similarity to one reported in Utah on Tuesday of this week, a man was woken by noise in his home and grabbed a loaded …
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2020
In Batavia, New York, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents were qualifying at the local shooting range when one person was accidentally shot in the leg. The local Sheriff’s department is investigating. Source: Scott Desmit, “Person Shot in Leg at Emergency Training Center,” The Daily News (October 22, 2020).
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2020
A Provo, Utah woman is in critical condition after being accidentally shot by her husband. He had woken in the night and mistaken her for a burglar. According to a police detective, ““[h]e had heard some noise in the house, gotten up from bed still tired but he suspected it was a burglar. He grabbed …
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 …
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2020
In a Providence, Rhode Island apartment, a woman was struck in the leg by a stray bullet while nursing her baby. The round was fired outside the apartment by an unknown shooter for an unknown reason. It passed through the apartment door and an inside wall before hitting the woman, Asende Mosi. Her baby was …
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2020
A 28-year old in Wichita, Kansas was injured when a gun tucked into his waistband accidentally fired. He was shot in the leg and taken to the hospital with a serious injury. Source: Michael Stavola, “Accidental and Self-inflicted Shooting at Towne East Square, Official Says,” Kansas.com (October 17, 2020).
MONDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2020
In Albert Lea, Minnesota, a man was injured Monday morning in an accidental shooting. He was reportedly shot in the leg in what police describe as a “negligent firing of the gun.” Police logs show that at the time of the accident, the injured man and another person were preparing to go to the gun …
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2020
A Cambria, Wisconsin woman was struck by shrapnel in her home and was flown by medical helicopter to a nearby hospital for treatment. According to authorities, the accident occurred as others in her home were preparing to go coyote hunting. Source: Bridget Cooke, “MedFlight Takes Woman from Cambria Residence after Accidental Shooting, Police Say,” Madison.com …
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2020
There were two reported gun accidents in Tennessee today. In Crossville, a man cleaning his gun at a firepit accidentally shot himself in the thigh. He was flown by “Lifestar” helicopter to a nearby hospital. In Memphis, two young brothers found a gun and one of them was shot in the hand. The boy went …