Reports of Unintended Gun Violence Collected from Media Reports Across the United States
Two toddlers died in gun accidents today. One found a gun and shot himself, the other was shot by a young sibling. Three-year old Bryson Skinner died after finding in a handgun in his home and shooting himself by accident. A related 22-year adult and his girlfriend were arrested and charged with felony child abuse. …
In Campbell County, Virginia, the driver of a car accidentally fired a handgun. The round passed through the door of his car and through the passenger door of a nearby vehicle hitting a woman in the back. She is hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries. Officials say they determined that the shooting was accidental, but charged …
In Richmond, Virginia, 19-year-old Chynekqua Walker was arrested and charged with reckless handling of a firearm after shooting her 15-year old brother in the shoulder in their home. According to a report “she thought that she was handling a BB gun when she accidentally shot her brother… with a real gun.” It was the fourth …
In Phoenix, Arizona, a four-year old boy is in a medically induced coma after being accidentally shot in the head by his 15-year old uncle. The boy’s father, Jose Solis, handed the gun to his 15-year old brother and the gun went off while the 15 year-old was handling it. “Jose was looking at his …
In Maquoketa, Iowa, a 20-year old man falsely claimed that he was shot in the abdomen by an unknown assailant outside his home. Upon investigation, police learned that he accidentally shot himself. The wounded man, Thomas A. Detro, “admitted in an interview that he walked outside with a revolver and fired multiple ‘warning’ shots into …
Two men were shot and killed at gatherings today where someone present was handling a gun. One of the gun accidents occurred in Cleveland Ohio. The other was in Houston, Texas, continuing a depressing pattern of unintentional shootings in and around that city. In Cleveland, a 25-year old man was shot in the chest and …
A five-year old Chicago, Illinois boy found a gun in his father’s pants pocket and used it to shoot himself in the hand. He was taken to a hospital where he is expected to recover. His father attempted to discard the gun and was later arrested. Charges are pending. Source: Molly Walsh, “5-Year-Old Boy Accidentally …
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 …
Two more young children died in gun accidents in their homes today. In Westminster, Colorado, a three-year old girl, Ruby Jackson, was shot and killed while playing with her seven-year old brother. She was shot in the chest as the children played ‘swords.’ “Ruby was using a broomstick, but at some point her brother picked …
A four-year old girl, Kastari Nunez, was accidentally shot and killed in Northeast Philadelphia today. According to the report, a “.357 revolver with five live rounds and one spent cartridge casing was found on a living room sofa.” Police ultimately charged three adults who were present in the home at the time of the accident. …
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 …
Four accidental shooting victims are taking up hospital beds amidst the coronavirus medical crisis, after gun accidents in Louisiana, Texas, Alabama and California today. In Jeanerette, Louisiana, a boy was accidentally shot in the neck during “horseplay.” The adult shooter was arrested and charged with illegal discharge of a weapon. A man in Lake Jackson, …
Quainnesha Paul, an 18-year old Baton Rouge, Louisiana teenager died in an apparent gun accident today. She was accidentally shot in her home by a 22-year old relative, Keagan Valdry. Valdry was arrested and charged with negligent homicide. No other details were released. Source: “Baton Rouge Man Accused of Negligent Homicide After Relative’s Death in …
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 …
Once again, a young child was shot as an innocent bystander to a violent argument, this time in Jacksonville, Florida. This is the second shooting of a child as bystander to an argument in two days. It is the third gun accident of this type in four days. The victim, Kearria Attison, was 5-years old. …
In an incident in Craigsville, Virginia, a 14-year old girl was accidentally shot in the hip during an altercation. The girl was attending a party where a fight broke out. One of the participants fired a warning shot into the ground. A bullet fragment ricocheted and struck the 14-year old. The man who fired the …
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 …
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. …
A three-year old girl and her father were both injured in Atlanta, Georgia, when the father’s gun accidentally went off while he was handling it inside their apartment. The father, Sahir Duvall, was shot in the hand and his daughter was shot in the neck. Duvall drove them both to the hospital where they were …
19-year old Anthony Padilla, an Albuquerque, New Mexico man, accidentally shot and killed his 13-year old cousin while arming himself for protection against the Covid-19 scare. The boy, Patrick Arroyo, was shot in the torso and pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital. According to a report of the shooting, “Padilla told police he was …
A 13-year old boy in Memphis Tennessee was charged with negligent homicide after accidentally shooting 9-year old Xavier Jackson with a gun that he found unsecured. A 26-year old man, Lindsey Williams, was also charged with negligent homicide in connection with the incident. “Too many kids in Memphis have died this year,” a relative said. …
A school maintenance worker at the Sagemont School in Weston Florida was accidentally shot in the eye by an armed school security officer. The security officer, who worked for a private company, dropped the shooting victim at a local hospital and went home. According to authorities, the security officer, Julian Suarez, was not authorized to …
A three-year old shot himself in the head today in Columbia, South Carolina with a gun he found in a bedroom in his home. He is hospitalized in critical condition. His mother was later charged with “unlawful conduct toward a child.” In Bolivar, Missouri a two-year old child shot his four-year old brother in the …
An 11-month old child in Plymouth Massachusetts was injured when a gun was accidentally fired near his home. The boy was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. The boy’s neighbor, a licensed gun owner, accidentally discharged his gun, according to the local police chief. “He says he was putting a trigger guard on it, …
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 …
Two teenagers were shot to death today by others in incidents that involved playing with a gun. In Tamaqua, a borough in Eastern Pennsylvania, Eric Tavener was shot and killed accidentally by 21-year old Francis Witmayer. Witnesses said that Tavener, an 18-year old, was playing with a gun when he was asked to return it …
For the second day in a row, a child was accidentally shot by an older relative in Houston, Texas. According to sheriff’s deputies, 19-year old Caitlyn Smith accidentally shot her 10-year old nephew while she was taking selfies with a gun. The Sheriff announced that Ms. Smith was arrested and charged with “Injury to a …
In Texarkana Arkansas, Kayden May was charged with manslaughter after the shooting death of his girlfriend Abbigale Thacker in their home. Both May and Thacker were 18-year olds. May’s charge was reduced from second-degree murder to manslaughter after authorities concluded that Thacker’s death resulted from an “extreme case of gun safety violations.” A Texarkana police …
A man sitting in his apartment in Plano, Texas today was shot in the leg by a neighbor who was moving a shotgun inside his home. The man whose shotgun accidentally fired is expected to be charged with the misdemeanor crime of discharging a firearm. Source: “Police: Man Accidentally Fired Shotgun Inside Plano Apartment, Injuring …
In Killingly, Connecticut, Mountain Robicheau shot through his leg when showing off his gun to his sister. The man told police that “he was showing his sister the de-cocking mechanism of his Beretta 96A .40-caliber pistol when his finger slipped while he was trying to lower the weapon’s hammer.” Robicheau opted not to immediately go …
A family in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is mourning the death of three-year old Chassity Clancy who was shot to death in a gun accident in her home. According to reports, 51-year old Marlin Pritchard was babysitting and fell asleep next to Chassity with a loaded pistol grip shotgun under his pillow when the gun went off. …
Lincoln Mack, a 4-year old boy in Pemberton Township, New Jersey, accidentally shot and killed himself today after finding a loaded handgun in his home. His parents and two siblings were in the home at the time. Lincoln’s preschool teachers described him as a “sweet and fun little boy with a smile that lit up …
A five-year old boy in Macon, Georgia accidentally shot his six-year old brother in the shoulder while they were playing with a handgun they had found in their home. The injured boy went to the hospital and is listed in stable condition. The boys’ mother was charged with cruelty to children in the second degree. …
Four young children accidentally shot themselves today with found guns in separate incidents. Two are dead. Two are hospitalized. In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania a four-year old found a Glock pistol in a closet and shot himself in the head in his bedroom. His three-year old brother was in the room at the time. Police say the …
In Byesville, Ohio, 37-year old David Wray was charged as: “a parent, guardian, custodian, person having custody or control, or person in loco parentis of a child under 18 years of age, who did create a substantial risk of the health or safety of an unidentified child, by violating a duty of care, protection or …
A bullet accidentally fired in Chesterton, Indiana, near Gary, passed through two adjoining apartments and narrowly missed a three-year old child. According to a police report, Samuel Duley, a 22-year old, was cleaning his rifle inside the apartment building when it went off. He had removed the gun’s ammunition clip, but “he must have spaced …
In Allentown, Pennsylvania, an accidentally discharged round passed through the shooter’s bedroom door, across a hallway and through another door where it struck 52-year old Virgen Milagros Rivera, who was critically injured. The shooter, who was found to have negligently handled the firearm, was charged with aggravated assault, simple assault and reckless endangerment. He was …
A 19-year old Clifton Park, New York woman, Kylee L. Stark, was charged with first degree reckless endangerment after accidentally discharging a shotgun inside her apartment while taking pictures of herself on her cell phone. There were no injuries. Ms. Stark was arraigned in Halfmoon Town Court and was released on her own recognizance. Source: …
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,” …
A Daytona Beach, Florida woman, Lauren Sherriffs, was arrested and charged with child abuse after a minor in her care shot himself in the foot with a .40-caliber handgun. The boy found the gun in a closet and was attempting to unload the gun went it off. Initially, the boy told police that he was …
A twenty-year old Pontiac, Michigan man was arrested after accidentally shooting his 13-year old cousin in the neck. The bullet lodged in the boy’s chest, though he was stable and expected to recover. Deputies said the 20-year-old had been playing with a .380-caliber pistol when it discharged. Source: Derick Hutchinson, “Pontiac Man Accidentally Shoots 13-year-old …
A Pataskala, Ohio girl was shot and killed by her 6-year old brother on the day after her second birthday. The boy had found a loaded gun in the home. A newspaper obtained the transcript of the call to 911: “There’s been an accident with a weapon. … My daughter’s been shot with a gun,” …
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 …
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 …
At a house party in Bedford County, Tennessee, a 19-year old man shot and killed his teenage friend, Riley Hancock, while they played with a gun. According to witnesses, the shooter thought a recently purchased pistol was unloaded and pointed it at his friend. He fired the gun, striking and killing Hancock. The 19-year old …
Steven Johnston of Lincoln Park, Michigan was arraigned today on child abuse charges after his three-year old daughter, Skylar, shot herself in the head after finding his loaded gun. His family called the accident a preventable tragedy. Mr. Johnston was not home at the time of the accident. Skylar was left in the care of …
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 …