Reports of Unintended Gun Violence Collected from Media Reports Across the United States
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 …
An 8-year old boy was accidentally shot in Milwaukee, Wisconsin today inside his home by a bullet fired outside. The report does not include information about the boy’s condition. A 16-year old was later arrested for firing indiscriminately into the home. “If children and women in our city are not safe, nobody is safe,” said …
Brooklyn Terrell, a 17-year old Lockland, Ohio teenager, was accidentally shot and killed when she and two other teenagers were handling a stolen gun. A 16-year-old boy has been charged with reckless homicide, obstructing justice and tampering with evidence. The other suspect, a 14-year-old boy, is charged with obstructing justice, tampering with evidence and theft …
In Little Rock, Arkansas, 18-year old Donte Jones died in a gun accident. The Police report indicates only that a juvenile has been arrested in connection with the incident and charged with manslaughter, tampering with evidence and possession of a handgun by a minor. Source: Max Brantley, “Teen Dies in What Police Term Accidental Shooting,” …
In Forney, Texas, a 14-year old boy was taken into custody after accidentally shooting and killing his 1-year old neighbor at her home. A 9-year old child was also injured. At the time of the incident, four children were in the home. No adults were present. The 14- year old was charged with ‘Unlawful Carrying …
At least three children were shot in separate gun accidents today. Two were wounded. One was killed. In Senatobia, Mississippi, a two-year old girl found a loaded gun and shot herself. She is being treated at a local hospital and is in stable condition. The incident is being reported as an “accidental discharge.” It is …
Jo-Jo Flores, a 14-year old Corpus Christi, Texas middle school student was accidentally killed in yet another incident in which teenagers were playing with a gun. 17-year old Ivan Farias was later arrested, imprisoned and charged with manslaughter. “It looks like it was an unfortunate accident between a couple of males, possibly playing with …
Two deaths today occurred when guns were unintentionally fired by young boys. In both cases an older boy accidentally killed a younger child. Both of the shooters are being prosecuted. In a third incident, two boys were injured after shooting themselves with a gun they found in a car. In Canton, Ohio an 11-year old …
Details are scarce about an incident in which 5-year old Amani Barringer was shot in the neck by her 14-year old brother with an unsecured gun. Amani was home, in Charlotte, North Carolina, with two teenagers age 14 and 15, when she was killed. The 14-year old was arrested and charged with involuntary manslaughter. An …
In Nyack, New York, two young men were fooling around with a gun in a car when it went off. Darien Brydie, a 21-year old Illinois man died after surgery at a local hospital. Collyer Goodman, an 18-year old from Valley Cottage, New York was arrested and charged with second degree manslaughter. “This appears to …
Two children unintentionally shot and killed others while playing with guns today. Each gun accident involves two shattered lives. In Biloxi, Mississippi, a “deceased male … under the age of 18” was “hanging out at an apartment” with friends when a 13-year old, Jayden Kyshun Frazier, started showing off a gun and pointing it at …
A Laramie, Wyoming 14-year old has been arrested and charged with manslaughter after an incident in which he killed a 13-year old. Although the details remain murky, comments on the Laramie police department’s Facebook page by relatives and others suggest that the children were playing with a gun while drinking in the park. It is …
A 14-year old St. George, Utah girl was shot and killed today during a gathering with other teenagers. According to an affidavit, the suspect, Anthony Vega, an 18-year old, was playing with [a] handgun, pointing it at several individuals while pulling the trigger. A juvenile witness also admitted that the individuals at the home, including …
In separate incidents, two young children found unsecured handguns today and accidentally shot and injured a sibling. In Beulaville, North Carolina, a 6-year old girl found a handgun in her home and shot her 12-year old sister in the back. The 12-year old is at the hospital in critical condition. An 18-year old was charged …
Three young children were accidentally shot and killed today, one at his own hand and the other two by relatives. In Springboro, Ohio, a five-year old boy shot and killed himself with his grandmother’s gun. The boy’s father told police that he woke to the sound of a gunshot. In Jackson County, West Virginia, a …
To pick up where we left off yesterday, in New York City today, 7-year old Kayley Santiago was struck in the thigh by stray gunfire while walking in the street with family members. 16-year old Isaiah Vazquez was firing at a rival and Kayley was an unintended victim. Vazquez was charged with attempted murder, assault …
A 16-year old boy was charged with negligent homicide in Phoenix, Arizona after he accidentally shot and killed 16-year old Kinesha Hill while handling a firearm. Because he is a minor, the boy’s name was not released. Source: “16-year-old Girl Dead after Gun Discharges in Phoenix Home,” Arizona Daily Sun (June 22, 2020).
19-year old Teshawn Bragg of Columbus Ohio suffered life-threatening injuries when he was accidentally shot by a 15-year old who was handling a gun. Police are investigating and have charged the 15-year old in juvenile court. Bragg is hospitalized in critical condition. Source: Jim Woods, “Young Man Will Survive after Being Seriously Injured in Shooting,” …
17-year old Ishmael Muhammad of Des Moines, Iowa was struck by a bullet in a local residence today when someone accidentally fired an illegal handgun. He later died of the wound. According to police, residents initially said that Muhammad had arrived at the home having already been shot. After an investigation, police charged a 16-year …
In St. Petersburg, Florida, Treyvon Maynor, a 16-year old, was arrested after he accidentally shot his 9-year old nephew with a stolen gun. The boy was hit in the arm and taken to a local hospital. According to witnesses, Maynor was handling the firearm when it accidentally fired. After the incident, Maynor fled the scene …
Arya Gray, a 15-year old Miami, Florida girl, was accidentally shot and killed by a 17-year old boy who was brandishing a stolen gun. According to an arrest report, 17-year old Thalys Olivera “recklessly brandished” a gun inside the apartment that Arya was visiting, and witnesses told the 17-year-old to put it away. Olivera did …
In Northwoods, Missouri, a 15-year old boy accidentally shot his 12-year old sister, Nakyah Durham. She was pronounced dead at the scene. The boy was handling a firearm when it accidentally discharged. He has been arrested and charged with involuntary manslaughter. Source: Associated Press, “Police: 15-Year-Old Accidentally Shot 12-Year-Old Sister,” US News and World Report …
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. …
Derrius Atkinson, a Wake Forest, North Carolina teenager pled guilty and was sentenced to 13-25 months in prison in connection with a 2018 gun accident that left his best friend dead. Atkinson was also ordered to pay restitution. Rodshawn Barnes, Atkinson, and two other boys were playing video games at Barnes’ home, while also playing …
Darric Appleton, a 14-year old Phoenix, Arizona teenager, was accidentally shot and killed by a 16-year old friend. 7 children, age 5-16, were in the home at the time of the incident. No adults were present. According to police, the 16-year old brought a gun to the residence, pointed it, and accidentally pulled the trigger. …
In Biloxi, Mississipi, Bennie Hiep Lu, a 15-year old, accidentally shot and killed another teenager. The boys were playing with a gun and Lu pulled the trigger in the belief that the gun was unloaded. Reports indicate that “Bennie has been placed under arrest and is being charged as an adult with manslaughter. … After …
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 third day in a row, a child was accidentally shot in East Texas by another child. In Joaquin, Texas, 17-year old Heston Avery accidentally shot and killed his teenage friend, whose name was not reported. At the time of the shooting, Avery called for emergency help, but deputies pronounced the victim dead at …
A 15-year old in Houston, Texas turned himself in to police after accidentally shooting his 5-year old sister in the stomach. The accident occurred while his parents were asleep. The boy panicked and ran from the home when his parents woke up to the sound of the gunshot. The 5-year old was rushed to a …
Two Tennessee teens were unintentionally shot this weekend. One is dead and the other is recovering at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. In Memphis, 16-year old Jordan Milan was shot and killed by his 17-year old friend, who was playing with a gun. The 17-year old, who was not identified by police, was arrested and charged …
A 13-year old Muskegon Heights, Michigan boy fired a flare gun that accidentally passed through a window and started a fire in the home of an 88-year old neighbor. Police officers responding to the incident heard a faint cry for help from inside the dwelling and rescued the 88-year old and her unconscious cat. The …
14-year old Jesus Jimenez Solis was cleaning a gun in his bedroom when it accidentally fired, killing his 15-year old friend, Sylas Lieb. Jimenez Solis, an Omaha Nebraska boy, was holding the gun in his lap and wiping it with a towel when it went off. Lieb died at the scene. According to investigators, Jimenez …
In another fatal gun accident involving a child in Pataskala, Ohio, a town of less than 16,000 people near Columbus (see December 14, 2019), 15-year old Noah Bigham shot and killed his best friend, Hunter Cooper, a high school freshman, while attempting to distract him from playing a video game. Noah was using the laser …
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 …
A 13-year old boy is facing unspecified charges in Perkins Township, Ohio after he shot and killed Benjamin LeGresley, an 8-year old. The Assistant Police Chief for Perkins County called it “a tragedy for the family and for the entire community. You don’t see things like this every day.” The incident occurred in the home …
15-year old Bradley Hulett was shot and killed in Lithia, Florida at the home of his friend, the son of a Tampa police officer. A group of four teenage boys was present at the time of the shooting. According to a subsequent news report about the investigation, some of the boys found the gun in …
Murder charges were dropped today in a case involving 18 year-old Fayaadh Gillard, a Philadelphia high school student who fatally shot his twin brother, Suhail, in a tragic accident. Their father, Alleem Gillard, who is paralyzed from the waste down due to his own exposure to gun violence, was teaching the twins, from his wheelchair, …
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 …
A 13-year old boy was charged with murder after shooting and killing his 14-year old friend, Zavier Mendoza, in Olathe, Kansas. Because of the defendant’s age, his name was not released when the murder charge was announced. The boy who was charged claimed that he didn’t know the gun was loaded when it went off. …