Reports of Unintended Gun Violence Collected from Media Reports Across the United States
Five more children were killed or injured in gun accidents today. In Katy, Texas, a four-year old boy died after being shot in the head by his nine-year old brother today with his uncle’s Glock. The uncle, Franciso Lupian, had brought the gun into the home and showed the boys how to use it. He …
Two children were killed and two were injured by unintended gun violence today. In Shreveport, Louisiana, 13-year old Landry Anglin was shot and killed as an innocent bystander when a round was fired from a vehicle in a rolling gun battle. Landry was a middle school student and was inside a home when she was …
Kyler Jackson, a South Bend, Indiana 5-year old was accidentally shot and killed by a 9-year old relative today. “We ask that you please respect the family,” the Police Department wrote, adding that the 9-year-old is “trying to recover from the trauma.” Additional details are not available. Colton Jon Shoemaker of Burlington, West Virginia was …
Yovany Rodriguez, a 39-year old Los Angeles, California man, was shot while driving. He died at the scene after crashing into another vehicle. Police are investigating, but have not identified the shooter. Source: “Fatal Head-on Crash Turns Into Shooting Investigation in South LA,” Fox 11 LA (April 27, 2022).
There were gun accidents across the country today resulting in at least six death or injuries: A person taking part in a gun training for Taylor, Michigan auxiliary police officers was shot in the abdomen and taken to the hospital. He was accidentally shot by another person participating in the training. “The volunteers with Taylor’s …
In Houston, Texas, 18-year old Nariah Champion was accidentally shot and killed by 17-year old Zakorion Batiste, who was playing with a gun. The two were among a group of kids hanging out together. Batiste has been charged with manslaughter and is being held on $50,000 bail. According to the report, if bond is made, …
Two women were shot today as innocent bystanders in gun violence incidents initiated by men or boys. In Tuscaloosa, Alabama, a pair of teenage boys, one 17 and the other 13, got into a spat over insults on social media. When they later engaged in public gunplay, a woman was struck and injured. She has …
A four-year old Spanish Lake, Missouri boy was “dropped off” at the hospital with a bullet wound to the arm. Police determined that he was shot accidentally at home, but have not said whether he shot himself or whether he was shot by a man who was also in the home. Source: Dori Olmos, “Man …
In Fort Worth, Texas, an 88-year old woman was struck in the hand by a stray bullet fired in a nearby dispute. She was in her home at the time of the incident. The bullet was fired by one of two men engaged in a dispute at a nearby horse stable. No one has been …
In Denver, Colorado, police are investigating the shooting of a three-year old who was taken to the hospital in a private vehicle in critical condition. “Investigators said the shooting appears accidental and self-inflicted.” The boy died five days later. It became clear that the accident happened in a parked vehicle. The boy’s mother, Celina Duran, …
Once again in Ohio, a child is dead after finding a loaded gun in his home. Today’s incident in South Euclid involved a ten-year old boy, Eion Boyette. The boy appears to have been playing with a gun when it went off, according to a news release from local police. Eion attended Greenview Middle School …
A Henderson, Nevada 14-year old was charged with involuntary manslaughter after shooting and killing his ten-year old brother with a shotgun. According to the report, the involuntary manslaughter charge means that the shooting was considered unintentional. One neighbor described the victim’s family as the “perfect family.” That’s extremely devastating,” said a mother who lives a …
Devin Page, Jr., a Baton Rouge, Louisiana 3-year old, was shot and killed by a stray bullet that entered through a window of his home. Police do not know who fired the gun. “He was a great, a very smart, intelligent 3-year-old. He was always happy, you know he loved the dance, he loves school, he …
In Opelika, Alabama, a loaded firearm discharged when it fell. The round struck and killed a 13-year old boy. “Our thoughts are with the family as they grieve the loss of their child,” said the Police Chief. “We encourage all individuals who own a firearm to ensure that it is stored safely and kept in a …
A six-year old a 12-year old are dead today after finding loaded guns in their homes. The six-year old died in Fort Collins, Colorado after arriving at the hospital. “Tragic events like this have a lasting impact on everyone involved, including family, friends, and first responders. Words cannot begin to express the depth of our …
Three teenagers have died in shooting incidents in Billings, Montana in just the last three months. The latest incident involved a 15-year old who died in a gun accident today. Local authorities have not yet described the circumstances of the incident other than to say that it happened at the boy’s home. What we see …
A three-year old and a six-year old died at the hospital in separate incidents involving unsecured loaded guns found in their homes. The three-year old, a Meigs County, Ohio boy, shot himself in the chest. “I just couldn’t imagine the pain and the hurt and the suffering they’re going through at the time, and …
14-year old Alexis Pierson, a Port St. Louis, Mississippi middle-schooler was shot and killed in her home by a child who found a loaded gun. One of Alexis’s friends had brought the gun over and did not secure it. When Pierson told the child who found the gun to put it down, the child accidentally …
In Clayton County, Georgia, 17-year old Anthony McClain was shot and killed while standing outside the barber shop he ran with his mother. According to a witness, he was caught in the crossfire when a man started shooting at a white car and someone in the car fired back. “He was just standing outside the …
In Shreveport, Louisiana, two children, aged 3 and 4, apparently found a loaded gun in their home. The gun inevitably was fired and the four year old, Michael Thomas, Jr., was shot in the chest and killed. His younger sister was also injured. Two adults were home at the time of the incident. According to …
Two people, including a one-year old baby, were injured in gun accidents after rounds passed through apartment walls. A one-year old Columbus, Ohio girl was struck by a bullet while she was sleeping between her parents. She was struck in the backside and is in stable condition at the hospital. The round, which was fired …
In Houston, Texas, a man shot himself in the testicles at the St. Regis hotel. He was either unpacking the gun or pulling it from his pants when the incident occurred. Source: John Tedesco, “Man at St. Regis Hotel Accidentally Shoots Himself in Testicles.” Houston Chronicle (March 25, 2022).
Kismet Sengdan of Akron, Ohio, a ten-year old died today after another child picked up an unsecured gun and accidentally discharged it. Kismet was visiting at the time. Police are investigating to determine who owned the gun. The Akron Public schools issued the following statement after the incident: “It is with a heavy heart that …
A two-year old and a three-year old were victims of unintended gun violence today. In Talbott, Tennessee, a two-year old is in critical condition after finding a loaded gun in his home. Investigators believe the gun went off in the boy’s hands as he was playing with it. “If you’re a gun owner, you got …
Yaniel Rivera, age 11, of Cleveland, Ohio was found dead in a Cleveland home after being shot in the abdomen. Police are investigating the incident as a likely unintentional shooting on the basis that Yaniel got access to an unsecured firearm. No arrests have been made. Yaniel is the fourth Cleveland child to die in …
The unintended consequences of gun violence were felt across the country on Sunday, including incidents on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, three incidents in Chicago and single incidents in Georgia and Maryland. In New Orleans, Louisiana, Charles Hudson, a bar employee, was shot and killed in the Cat’s Meow, a crowded Bourbon Street karaoke bar, …
A Fremont, Ohio 22-year old was found dead from an accidental gunshot wound after police received an emergency call. They believe that alcohol played a role in the accident and are investigating. Source: “22-year-old Fremont Man Killed in Apparent Accidental Shooting,” 13 ABC Action News (March 18, 2022).
A 16-year old San Angelo, Texas boy died from a gunshot wound to the chest suffered when he and other kids were handling a loaded gun. Police are investigating to determine exactly what happened. They have announced that no further information will be released at this time. Source: Matt Trammell, “San Angelo Police Confirm Teen …
A Ripley, Tennessee three-year old found a loaded gun in his home and shot himself in the head. He was found dead at the scene. No arrests have been made, but there is an ongoing investigation. Also today, the father of a Dolton, Illinois three-year old who accidentally shot and killed his mother was arrested …
Three children found loaded guns in their homes today and injured themselves, two of them in Baton Rouge Louisiana. The two incidents make three accidental shootings in Baton Rouge in just two days. Deetroy Watkins, 26, of Baton Rouge was arrested after he left his gun in a couch cushion. His three-year old son found …
Several types of common American gun accidents were on display today in cities across the country. In Memphis, Tennessee, a man died in an apparent shooting range accident. Two children found loaded guns at home and shot themselves. Again, in Memphis, Tennessee, a toddler is in critical condition after a self-inflicted shooting. Memphis officials say …
In Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, a woman who was attempting to shoot at an intruder instead accidentally struck her husband, Brent Barnes. Barnes was struck in the arm and the stomach. According to the report, the intruder got away. Source: Jennifer Pierce, “Woman Accidentally Shot Husband Multiple Times Instead Of Home Intruder,” news9.com (March 4, 2022).
A 12-year old Chicago, Illinois girl was in a car with her family returning home from her birthday dinner when she was struck in the head by a bullet fired on the street. According to police, the shooters were firing at a different car. The girl was taken to the hospital in critical condition. And …
For the third day in a row, a four-year old boy found a gun in his home and used it to shoot himself. Today’s accident involved a four-year old named Roman in Coatesville, Pennsylvania who shot himself in the face. Although investigatory details have not been released, a neighbor said, “”[h]e played around with a …
Four-year old Miyell Hernandez of Lithonia, Georgia, found a loaded gun in his mother’s car while she was at the grocery store and shot and killed himself. Miyell was waiting for her with two other children when the accident occurred. “We talked all the time,” said Miyell’s grandmother, April Griffin. “I never felt that kind …
A gun accident in Mobile, Alabama led to hospital treatment for two teenagers. The younger of the two was attempting to disassemble the gun when it fired. He was struck in the hand and the other teen was struck in the knee. They arrived at the hospital separately and police later concluded that the incidents …
Gun accidents involving children appear to have become so routine that they are sometimes barely reported. In Florence, South Carolina, there was an accidental shooting involving a child that resulted in hospitalization. No other information was reported. And in Detroit, Michigan, a five-year old was shot and taken to the hospital. Either he or another …
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office of Professional Responsibility is investigating a gun accident in which off-duty border agent Stevan Djordjevic shot and killed a relative who was visiting his home. The victim, Jacob Sellors, age 26, was visiting Sierra Vista, Arizona from out of town and was found on a bedroom floor in …
A Payette County, Idaho 64-year old was airlifted to the hospital after his 70-year old friend accidentally shot him during target practice. The 70-year old was unloading his rifle when it went off. The round struck the younger man, whose condition is unknown. No arrests have been made. Source: “Middleton Man Shot in Target Practice …
In Johnston, Rhode Island, the local police chief announced that the gun death of a 15-year old boy was not a suicide and is being treated as an accident. No other details have been released. And in Siler City, North Carolina, Patricia Stanley, age 38, died in an apparent gun accident in an RV. A …
A Detroit, Michigan 14-year old has lost his life as the result of an incident that appears to have involved “horseplay” with a gun. A weapon was found “near the child,” according to police. There may have been a second person involved and police are investigating. Source: Hani Barghouthi, “Saturday Evening Shooting That May Have …
An Anderson County, South Carolina 9-year old was shot today when his mother’s gun fell out of her purse, struck the floor and discharged. His injuries are not considered life-threatening. The sheriff’s office is investigating. Source: Anne Newman, “Child Shot at Anderson County Home, Deputies Say,” wyff4.com (February 10, 2022).
Harold James of Washington, DC was lying in watching TV when a bullet came through the ceiling and struck him in the leg. It ended his life. According to authorities, the man living the apartment upstairs from James was cleaning his gun when it discharged. “I don’t think any of us can ever imagine a …
In Sunny Valley, Oregon, a man took his own life after accidentally shooting and killing his brother. According to the source, the man called 911 to report that he had accidentally shot his brother while loading a gun after discovering a bear on their property. When police arrived, they found both brothers deceased and concluded …
Two St. Louis, Missouri girls, aged 3 and 4, were injured after finding a loaded gun in a parent’s coat pocket and accidentally firing it. One of the girls is in critical condition at the hospital and the other has non-life threatening injuries. There is an ongoing investigation. Source: Kelsee Ward, “2 children, Ages 3 …
A familiar story from Port Arthur, Texas today where a juvenile had access to a gun. He was playing with that gun in a group of kids when it fired and struck Jordan Reed, aged 18. Reed was later pronounced dead at the hospital. Despite an ongoing investigation, police released the juvenile who fired the …
In San Antonio, Texas, police are searching for three suspects who opened fire on a woman that they had been chasing by car. The woman was not injured. Rounds instead struck and killed Paul Wilson, age 47, who was going to his car to go to the grocery store. “He was at the wrong place …
In Jackson, Mississippi, 19-year old Shakira Gatlin was shot in the head and killed on the street when a teenager she was with mishandled a gun. Police are investigating. Gatlin is a former member of the Dancing Dolls, a Jackson dance group made famous on the reality TV series, Bring It. Her father, Derrick Robinson …
In Columbus, Georgia, a three-year old was shot and killed under circumstances that have not been described, but which authorities say are likely to be ruled accidental. No follow-up news stories appeared in the first five days following the incident. In Chicago, Illinois, a security guard who had been shot in the leg in a …
Three children, aged 4, 7, and 11 were shot and injured or killed when they found loaded guns today. A fourth child, age 14, was shot and killed with a ghost gun he had built. In Lexington, Kentucky, a four-year old was injured in a gun accident that police have determined was accidental. However, the …
Three people were unintended victims of gun violence today, including an off-duty police officer who was mistakenly shot at his home by another officer who mistook him for an armed robbery suspect. In Athens, Texas, an 8-year old was shot in the head with a bullet that came out of a wooded area behind his …
In Atlanta, Georgia, a 6-month old child was killed in the crossfire of an incident in which two people were shooting at each other outside a local Food Mart. A bullet fired on the street passed into the car where the child was strapped into the back seat. According to a report, the death of …
At a housing complex for the elderly in Mansfield, Massachusetts, an elderly man accidentally shot himself in the leg at 2:00 AM. Officers called to the scene applied a tourniquet to the man’s leg and took him to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Source: Stu Skerker, “Man at Mansfield Apartment Complex Accidentally Shoots Self …
An eight-year old girl was shot in the head and killed on the street in Chicago, Illinois today. Police are clear that neither she nor her caregiver were the intended targets of gun violence, but rather that they were innocent bystanders. A pool of blood could was visible at the scene of the crime and …
In Columbia, South Carolina, a woman with a gun in her pocketbook or in her pocket accidentally shot herself while shopping at a local mall. Other shoppers heard a loud bang and rushed from the premises. The woman’s injuries are not believed to be life-threatening, but her precise condition is unknown. Police are investigating whether …
18-year old Fernando Akins of Nashville, Tennessee mishandled a gun in his home and accidentally shot and killed his 17-year old half-brother, Elton Maupins. After the accident, Akins went to get his grandmother and the two of them rendered aid, but Maupins later died at the hospital. The gun used in the incident has not …
A Storm Lake, Iowa nine-year old was struck in the lower body by an accidentally fired handgun round today. Another child living in the home had found an unsecured gun and fired it. The child is expected to survive. Two children, an 11-month old in the Bronx, New York and a five-year old in Atlanta, …
Three children, age 2, age 4, and age 15, were shot and injured in gun accidents today. The two year-old, of Spring Lake, North Carolina, was shot with a semi-automatic pistol as he was sitting in his mother’s car, while she was speaking with someone through the window. Police have declined to say whether he …
An 11-year old girl was struck in the arm by a bullet as an innocent bystander when a dispute erupted at a family gathering at her grandmother’s home in St. Louis, Missouri. She is recovering at the hospital. Also today, an eleven-year old and three teenagers were killed in gun violence incidents in various American …
A pair of three-year old children found loaded guns in their homes and accidentally shot themselves today. In Birmingham, Alabama, a three-year old found a family member’s loaded gun in his home and shot himself in the leg. He is expected to survive. The report notes that it was the second incident in Jefferson County …
Three more two-year olds were shot and killed today after small children found unattended loaded guns in their homes. Four American two-year olds have died from unintended gun violence in just two days. In Callaway, Florida, a four-year old shot a two-year old sibling, according to the Sheriff’s Office. “We’ll be evaluating and gathering evidence. …
Kyler Small, a Hueytown, Alabama two-year old, died today after finding a family member’s loaded gun and shooting himself. Coroner’s officials called the shooting “accidental.” An investigation is ongoing, but no further information about the shooting is being released. Source: Associated Press “Police: 2-year-old Killed After Discharging Relative’s Gun,” apnews.com (January 12, 2022).
Children were shot as innocent bystanders in three separate incidents today. In Kenner, Louisiana, a 10-year old was shot while he was sleeping. He is in stable condition at the hospital. Police are investigating the connection between today’s incident and an incident in July, in which a 15-year old was killed in the same home. …
In Granbury, Texas, a one-year old child accidentally shot an infant sibling and their mother in a Walmart parking lot. Both mother and child are expected to survive. The 23-year-old mother of the children “was standing outside of the driver’s door of their vehicle,” according to witnesses. The childrens’ father was behind the truck. “[T]he …
A 20-year old New York City man driving a Tesla on First Avenue shot himself in the leg. He discarded the gun on the street before pulling over. Police then found him with a gunshot wound to the thigh. He is in stable condition at the hospital. Source: Dean Moses, “Man Shoots Himself in Leg …
For at least the third year in a row, police have linked at least one random death on New Year’s Eve to celebratory gunfire. Among this year’s incidents is one that occurred in Durham, North Carolina. A witness says that he saw two women pull up in a car when one of them fell to …
A Jacksonville, North Carolina police officer accidentally shot his 15-year old son in the head. The injury is considered life-threatening. Reported details are scarce other than a statement that preliminary indicators suggest that the shooting was accidental. There is an ongoing investigation. Tiffani Tant, age 18 of Gladewater, Texas was accidentally shot and killed by …
Dillan Burton, age 7, of New Orleans, Louisiana was struck and killed by gunfire while in the back seat of her mother’s car. The family was driving through an intersection at the time of the incident when gunfire broke out on the street. Dillan, an innocent bystander was struck by a bullet passing into the …
A Hendersonville, North Carolina three-year old found a loaded gun on Christmas day and shot herself. She was airlifted to the hospital where she initially was undergoing treatment. A later news story reported that the girl, Aylee Gordon, died at the hospital. Her father, a retired sheriff’s captain, told police that Aylee had found the …
On the day of Christmas Eve, a two-year and a five-years old were victims of gun accidents. The two-year old killed himself and the five-year old was injured. In Independence, Missouri, the two-year old was handling a gun when it fired. The child was pronounced dead several hours later. Police were initially told that there …
In Columbia, South Carolina, a 13-year old and his friend were handling a loaded gun when it went off. The 13-year old was struck and killed. “Where did they get the gun? That’s my biggest question as a parent. Where did they get the gun from? Why were they playing with it? Why was it …
A man in a parked vehicle at a Monticello, Arkansas Walmart accidentally fired a gun inside his car. He was taken to the the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The report does not explain why the man needed a loaded gun at the local WalMart on a Friday afternoon. Source: Joe Burgess, “Accidental Shooting on …
A teenager was killed and a young man was seriously injured today by rounds fired from guns that were believed to be unloaded. As always, this raises the question of why guns are manufactured without prominent loaded chamber indicators. Although safety protocols should always include checking the chamber for a live rounds, many gun users …
In Columbus, Nebraska, two people were injured when a dog in a pick-up truck discharged a shotgun that had been left unattended in the back seat. The shotgun had previously jammed, according to authorities. Two people were struck as they exited a nearby business. Another vehicle was also damaged. In Oakwood, Georgia, a teenager accidentally …
In Atlanta, Georgia, a one-year old who was left alone with her pre-school age brother and a loaded gun was accidentally shot. She is in critical condition at the hospital. A police lieutenant said though it was “a tragic accident,” charges could be filed. “Please put guns away. This is now the second time in …
A six-year old and a nine-year old were killed as innocent bystanders in Columbus, Ohio when unidentified men opened fire on a car in which they were sitting. The 22-year old driver was also killed. “There is a mother now who will have to go on in her life with two young babies that she …
Alexander Alvarado, a 12-year old boy, and a 12-year old girl were shot today when men opened fire on a parked car near a Los Angeles, California elementary school. Alvarado later died at the hospital. The 12-year old girl, who was participating in the afterschool program, was wounded. “She was in the schoolyard just playing. …
From a Facebook post made by the sheriff’s office in Nagadoches County, Texas, we learn today that two young boys were playing in a bedroom with a .380 semi-automatic pistol that had been left unattended. The boys, one ten and the other 13, had been shooting earlier in the day under adult supervision. When the boys …
Michael McDougal of Columbus, Georgia, age 26, was killed in a gun accident that reportedly occurred when his 9-year old daughter placed a gun on a table. There is an ongoing investigation. The report is unclear about whether the trigger was pulled. There are several well-known defects that cause certain makes and models of guns …
A Covington, Virginia three-year old found a gun in his home and shot himself to death. His grandfather acknowledged that the gun was his, but told police it was hidden under some clothes. The boy died at the hospital after being airlifted to a trauma center. According to the news report investigators are “searching for …
A ten-year old innocent bystander was one of three people injured when gang-related gun violence broke out on the day after Thanksgiving at a crowded Durham, North Carolina mall. His injuries are not considered life threatening. The shooting led to a mass evacuation, but no suspects were arrested. The shooting was one of two triple …
Three children were killed in unintended gun violence on Thanksgiving Day. In Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, a group of kids were making a social media video with a gun on Thanksgiving Day, when one of them accidentally pulled the trigger. A five-year old was shot and killed and a 13-year old has been taken into custody. …
Eric Perez, a 10-year old in Shelbyville, Kentucky, died today in a shooting that appears to authorities to have been accidental. “He was just a fun and energetic little boy — he did his own little thing, that’s why it’s so shocking,” said a neighbor. A police spokesperson added, “[t]hat’s hard especially with the holidays …
In St. Louis, Missouri, a two-year old accidentally shot his father in the back with a rifle. The unidentified man, who was in his 20s, died at the scene. No further information is available. A Corry, Pennsylvania man, 64-year old Gary Hunt, was shot and killed while hunting bear with a friend. According to an …
Police reported accidental shootings today in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Chicago, Illinois, two American cities already notably suffering from the ongoing pandemic of gun violence. In Milwaukee, a 69-year old woman was struck by a random round fired outside her home. Her suffered serious injuries, but is in stable condition at the hospital according to a …
For the second day in a row, a law enforcement officer was shot in a training accident. A correction officer requalifying on her weapon at a training facility in Cedar Grove, New Jersey was reportedly struck in the buttocks when her weapon misfired. Her name was not released and she is expected to be OK. …
In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a two-year old boy found a gun next to a bed in his home and shot himself in the stomach. The bullet exited through the boy’s back. The boy’s parents drove him to hospital, where he is listed in stable condition. “Yet another one of our precious children has suffered a critical …
Quadarrien Simmons, age 19, of Perry, Georgia, was accidentally shot and killed in a car when two teenagers in the backseat accidentally discharged a gun. The fired round passed through the back of his seat before it struck him. A local police Captain said that a 19-year-old named Tyrese Brown of Fort Valley and 17-year-old …
In Poughkeepsie, New York, two teenagers fired guns outside a Poughkeepsie High School. A 13-year old with a semiautomatic pistol and a 15-year old were later arrested after fleeing on foot. Several shell casings were found near the school and several vehicles were hit. A short time later, a 19-year old, apparently the victim of …
An innocent bystander in Houston, Texas was accidentally shot and killed today in a 2:00 AM firefight between security guards and a reckless driver. It is unclear if the driver was armed. He was reportedly driving dangerously in a parking lot and had injured two people. The women was killed when security guards confronted …