Reports of Unintended Gun Violence Collected from Media Reports Across the United States
Two Boys Shot by Relatives, One is Killed A 16-year-old boy was pronounced dead at the scene, after being unintentionally shot in a barn behind a home in Tomball, Texas. Rhyder Tettleton, the victim’s 17-year-old brother, has been charged with homicide. The boys’ parents were not home at the time, and a group of teenagers had gathered …
Two People Killed, and One Injured in Unintentional Shootings In Baker, Louisiana, a 17-year-old male accidentally shot himself and was taken to the hospital in critical condition. He died later from his injuries. No other details have been reported. In Salt Lake City, Utah, a 33-year-old man fatally shot himself in the head while handling a gun that …
Two-year-old Boy is One of Three Victims Who Were Injured in Gun Accidents Today In Owensboro, Kentucky, a man was shot in the leg when a gun unintentionally discharged in the apartment next door. He sustained non-life-threatening injuries when the bullet came through the wall. The neighbor, Michael Chavez, 24, returned home from a bar with friends, and …
Gun Accidents Involving Law Enforcement Officers; One Woman Killed, Four Other People Injured In Ocala, Florida, a county deputy, Leslie Boileau, killed his girlfriend when he accidentally shot her in the head while they were cleaning guns. According to Boileau, he and his girlfriend both drank three margaritas at dinner. When they came home, they decided that …
Man Critically Injured Helping Break Up Fight at Strip Club In a Morrisville, Pennsylvania strip club, Mekhi Norman was helping break up a fight when he was unintentionally shot multiple times by one of the combatants, 27-year-old Pedro E. Rodriguez. He was taken to the hospital in critical condition with injuries to the back of …
Roommates Playing with Guns Result in One Man’s Death In a St. Petersburg, Florida home, Kevin Bishop, age 50, was accidentally shot and killed. Bishop and his roommate, 57-year-old William Tompkins, were drinking alcohol and looking over the guns that Bishop owned and both believed to be unloaded. The men were pointing the guns at …
Three People Injured in Unintentional Shootings, Including a 2-year-old Girl A 2-year-old girl was shot and taken to the hospital in critical condition after a firearm unintentionally discharged in an apartment in Knoxville, Tennessee. All individuals involved were questioned by police, and two juvenile boys, ages 12 and 14, have been charged with felony reckless endangerment …
Man is Accidentally Shot in Bar When police responded to a call about a shooting in a bar in New Bedford, Massachusetts, they found evidence of a shooting but no victim. Apparently, the man, who had been shot when a gun went off accidentally, had already been taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. No …
Three Teens Unintentionally Injured in Shootings After a 13-year-old St Petersburg, Florida boy reported that he had been shot while riding his bike, investigating police concluded that he had accidentally shot himself instead. The boy’s injuries are not considered life threatening and police are investigating where the boy got the gun. In Alexandria, Louisiana, an …
33-year old Thomas Jackson of Phoenix, Arizona was unintentionally shot and killed by his older brother, Dominique today. Dominque mishandled a gun and it went off, striking Thomas, who died at the scene. Dominique was arrested and charged with manslaughter The two brothers were allegedly drinking and using drugs at the time of the incident. …
In Charlotte, North Carolina, man “negligently discharged” his weapon inside his vehicle outside a local shooting range. He was transported to a hospital for treatment. In Mashpee, Massachusetts, a man negligently shot himself in the hand and was flown to a Rhode Island hospital for treatment. And in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, a man who was …
Witnesses to a Duluth, Minnesota bar fight and surveillance video confirms “that two men were fighting two other men when a gun fell out of a man’s waistband. When a bystander attempted to grab the gun, it fired and the victim was shot in the foot.” The shooting remains under investigation but police say “there …
Brandon Vanatter and Anthony Harris of Cincinnati, Ohio were drunk and playing with Harris’s gun in Harris’s apartment when it went off today, killing Harris. Vannatter has been arrested and charged with reckless homicide. “Anytime you have a firearm and you’re using alcohol, it’s reckless behavior, not accidental behavior,” the prosecutor said. Source: “Prosecutor: Mt. …
There were at least four more serious gun accidents today, for a total of nine in two days. Several of the accidents occurred because the shooter wasn’t aware that the gun was loaded, making it unlikely that the weapons involved had a proper loaded chamber indicator, a common sense safety device. In North Pole, Alaska, …
28-year old Matthew Stafford was socializing in a Las, Vegas, Nevada apartment when the handgun he was playing with fired. Another man, also in his 20’s was shot and killed. Stafford has been arrested on unspecified charges. In Soddy Daisy, Tennessee, Michael Jarrell was shot and killed by his brother Larry, who was playing with …
In Denton, Texas, two friends were drinking and handling a firearm when it went off, injuring one of them. They say they didn’t know the gun was loaded. The injured friend was taken to the hospital and released. Source: Zaira Perez, “Friends Alleged Drinking, Negligence Led to Shooting at Denton Apartment,” Denton Record-Chronicle (March 2, …
A Robstown, Texas man was charged with manslaughter after he accidentally shot and killed 47-year old Patricia Blanco. The man, Arturo Gonzalez, age 50, admitted to officers that he was very drunk when his revolver “went off.” In Cumming, Georgia, a teenager was arrested on multiple charges after he shot another boy in the chest …
An Ankeny, Iowa man was arrested after accidentally shooting his roommate in the face. The man’s roommate has been hospitalized with life-threatening injuries. According to the report, the unidentified shooter was intoxicated and handling a .9mm pistol in a reckless manner when it went off. He was released on bond after being charged with reckless …
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. …
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 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 …
A 22-year old was killed and three children were seriously injured in gun accidents today. In Dunmore, Pennsylvania, 22-year old Tyler Sitar was accidentally shot in the stomach by his friend Luigi Lorusso, who was handling a gun. Sitar died of his wound and Lorusso was arrested and charged with manslaughter. Another Columbus, Ohio child, …
In Newton, Kansas, a 14-year old girl was shot and killed by a drunk 16-year old boy while hanging out with friends. The intoxicated boy apparently was waving a gun around and pointing it at members of the group when it went off and the girl was shot. The report does not provide information about …
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 …
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 Jackson, Mississippi, a 15 year-old girl was accidentally shot in the neck when she found a gun under a couch. She remains in the hospital in critical condition. According to a witness, when the girl found the gun, a 14-year old boy attempted to take it away from her and the gun went off. …
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 …