Child Death (18 and Under) Child Injury (18 and Under) Child Under 18 (as Shooter) North Carolina Ongoing Investigation Texas

MONDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2021

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 …

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Child Death (18 and Under) Child Under 18 (as Shooter) North Carolina Ongoing Investigation

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2021

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 …

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Child Death (18 and Under) Child Injury (18 and Under) Child Under 18 (as Shooter) Missouri Ongoing Investigation Texas

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2021

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 …

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Adult Injury Child Death (18 and Under) Michigan Ongoing Investigation Texas

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2021

           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 …

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Adult Injury Child Injury (18 and Under) Child Under 18 (as Shooter) Georgia Nebraska Ongoing Investigation

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2021

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 …

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Adult Injury Child Injury (18 and Under) Child Under 18 (as Shooter) Georgia No Charges Filed Ongoing Investigation Virginia

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2021

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 …

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California Child Death (18 and Under) Child Injury (18 and Under) Ongoing Investigation

MONDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2021

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. …

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Child Injury (18 and Under) Child Under 18 (as Shooter) Children and Guns Florida Ongoing Investigation Texas

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2021

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 …

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Child Death (18 and Under) Child Under 18 (as Shooter) Children and Guns Ongoing Investigation Virginia

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2021

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 …

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Child Injury (18 and Under) North Carolina Ongoing Investigation

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2021

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 …

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Child Death (18 and Under) Child Under 18 (as Shooter) Georgia Juvenile Arrested Minnesota Ongoing Investigation Pennsylvania

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2021

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.  …

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Child Death (18 and Under) Child Under 18 (as Shooter) Kentucky Ongoing Investigation

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2021

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 …

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Adult Death Child Death (18 and Under) Child Under 18 (as Shooter) Juvenile Arrested Missouri Ongoing Investigation Pennsylvania

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2021

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 …

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Adult Injury Illinois No Charges Filed Ongoing Investigation Wisconsin

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2021

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 …

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Adult Injury Alabama Child Injury (18 and Under) Child Under 18 (as Shooter) New Hampshire New Jersey Ongoing Investigation

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2021

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. …

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Adult Injury Child Injury (18 and Under) Massachusetts Ongoing Investigation Pennsylvania

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2021

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 …

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Alabama Child Death (18 and Under) Child Injury (18 and Under) Child Under 18 (as Shooter) Georgia Ongoing Investigation

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2021

Kayden Jones, age 8, of Atlanta, Georgia was accidentally shot and killed at his home.  Family and friends released red and blue balloons on Sunday at a vigil in his honor. “We’ve been crying all night, all morning,” a neighbor said. “How can you constantly keep trying to explain and get another seven or eight-year-old …

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Adult Injury Child Injury (18 and Under) Kentucky Minnesota No Charges Filed North Carolina Ongoing Investigation

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2021

Three common types of gun accidents were illustrated on Friday. In Meeker County, Minnesota, Mike Hendrickson, a hunter, unintentionally fired a gun into his thigh while climbing a tree stand. He was airlifted to the hospital after a tourniquet was applied at the scene of the accident. “His first surgery revealed significant loss of tissue, …

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Adult Death Child Death (18 and Under) Illinois Missouri Ongoing Investigation Texas

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2021

There were accidental shooting deaths today in Beaumont, Texas, where  an 18-year old boy died at home and in Kansas City, Missouri, where a woman died on the street.  Few details were reported. And in Clark County, Illinois, a child accidentally shot their father while the two were walking in the woods. Sheriff’s deputies called …

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Child Injury (18 and Under) Child Under 18 (as Shooter) Oklahoma Ongoing Investigation South Carolina

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2021

 Three children were injured today in two separate gun accidents. A nine-year old in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma was injured when a  gun accidentally discharged.  According to the report, a group of children were playing with the gun in an apartment when it discharged and struck the child in the hip.  The report does not provide …

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Child Death (18 and Under) Child Injury (18 and Under) Iowa Juvenile Arrested Ongoing Investigation

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2021

In an illustration of how even an accidental shooting can lead to a vicious cycle of violence, four people in Des Moines, Iowa were injured when gunfire erupted at a vigil for an accidental shooting victim. The original accident occurred on March 6, 2021, when Thomas Ivy accidently shot and killed 16-year old Elijah Brown-Townsend …

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Adult Injury Alabama Child Injury (18 and Under) Child Under 18 (as Shooter) Indiana Ongoing Investigation Tennessee Texas

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2021

In Granite Quarry, North Carolina, a middle school student shot and killed himself when he “mishandled a gun” that he thought was unloaded. At this time, the family has asked for privacy and we ask for everyone to keep the family in thoughts and prayers,” the local police chief said. “We have no further releasable …

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Child Death (18 and Under) Child Under 18 (as Shooter) Ongoing Investigation South Carolina

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2021

A three-year old in Columbia, South Carolina shot and killed herself today.  No other details are available.  Authorities have not said how the child got the gun.  Nor do they question why there are no laws or regulations that would prevent gun designs that make it simple for a toddler to pull a trigger. Source: …

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Adult Death Ongoing Investigation Vermont

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2021

Dawson McGrath, an Addison, Vermont man died today of a “non-suspicious gunshot.”  Police are continuing to investigate, but they have preliminarily concluded that McGrath’s gunshot wound was accidental and self-inflicted. He was transferred by helicopter to Vermont Medical Center and was originally listed in critical condition, but he was later pronounced dead at the hospital. …

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Adult Injury Child Death (18 and Under) Indiana Ongoing Investigation Texas

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2021

15-year old Kamm VanGilder of Jeffersonville, Indiana was riding with a former Jeffersonville police officer when the man’s rifle accidentally discharged and VanGilder was killed.  The former officer was not identified.  An autopsy has confirmed that the shooting was accidental, but the investigation is ongoing. In an incident at a San Antonio, Texas mall, two …

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Adult Arrested Adult Death Child Injury (18 and Under) Michigan Ongoing Investigation Pennsylvania

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2021

Authorities in Clinton Township, Michigan are expected to charge a man whose gun went off during a physical altercation with his younger brother.   The two men were wrestling on the floor when the gun fired and the younger man was killed. The precise circumstances causing the gun to go off are unclear. Although the police …

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Child Death (18 and Under) Child Under 18 (as Shooter) Children and Guns Missouri Ongoing Investigation

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2021

The Problem of Relying on a Gun Seller as an “Expert” on Gun Safety According to the original report, police concluded that an Independence, Missouri eight-year old found a gun in his family’s home and shot himself. He was transported to the hospital where he later died. “We are just trying to put all the …

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Adult Injury Alcohol and Guns Ongoing Investigation Wisconsin

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2021

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 …

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Adult Injury Alabama Child Injury (18 and Under) North Carolina Ohio Ongoing Investigation Pennsylvania

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2021

There were at least four different innocent bystander shootings today.  The unintended consequences of intentional shootings continue to grow in proportion to the expansion of gun violence in the United States. In Cincinnati, Ohio, an 11-year old boy was struck in his bedroom while playing video games.  The rounds that passed into his room were …

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Adult Arrested Adult Injury Child Injury (18 and Under) Colorado Georgia Ongoing Investigation

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2021

Minimal details were reported about two gun accidents that occurred today. The Winter Park, Colorado police department reported that Eric Van Geet, age 25, was arrested and charged with second degree assault and reckless endangerment after he picked up a .22 caliber revolver inside a local apartment, cocked it, and pulled the trigger.  He shot …

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Adult Death Ongoing Investigation Texas

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2021

Austin Salyer, a Texas State University student, was shot and killed while sleeping when a gun was negligently discharged in a neighboring apartment.  Police in San Marcos, Texas have identified and interviewed the shooter, but have not released the shooter’s name pending further investigation.  They have offered their deepest condolences to Salyer’s family. Source: Maeve …

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Adult Arrested Child Death (18 and Under) Ongoing Investigation Tennessee

FRIDAY, AUGUST 27, 2021

Two Memphis, Tennessee girls were shot and killed in separate gun accidents today. In the first incident, at 2:30 A.M., William Oliver accidentally shot and killed his own eight-year old daughter, believing she was an intruder.  He has been arrested and charged with reckless homicide. In the other incident, a Memphis six-year old was shot …

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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 …

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Child Injury (18 and Under) Child Under 18 (as Shooter) Indiana Ongoing Investigation

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 25, 2021

Yet another Indianapolis, Indiana child was involved in an accident with a gun today.  In this instance, a two-year old apparently found a loaded gun in his home and shot himself.   He is reportedly in critical condition at the hospital. There were two other children in the home at the time.  They were released into …

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Child Injury (18 and Under) Child Under 18 (as Shooter) Missouri Ongoing Investigation Pennsylvania

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 18, 2021

 Two children were injured today in gun accidents.  In Chester, Pennsylvania, an 11-month old girl was struck in the head when a gun fell off a table and discharged.  She is listed in fair condition at the hospital, but is expected to survive.  The reporting did not include information about the gun involved in the …

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Child Injury (18 and Under) Ohio Ongoing Investigation Pennsylvania

SATURDAY, AUGUST 14, 2021

In Cincinnati, Ohio, another child was shot in a gun accident today.  The child’s injuries are not considered life threatening.  There have been a particularly large number of accidental shootings involving Ohio children over the last 20 months, with many of those shootings occurring in Cincinnati. In Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Alexander Lewis Heaps acknowledged mishandling …

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Child Death (18 and Under) Child Under 18 (as Shooter) Minnesota Ongoing Investigation

FRIDAY, AUGUST 13, 2021

Frantic rescue attempts were unsuccessful when a 5-year old boy accidentally shot a three-year old girl in Bena, Minnesota.  According to the report, first responders intercepted a vehicle in which family members were rushing the girl to the hospital in order to provide emergency medical attention.  Their life-saving attempts were unsuccessful. Law enforcement officers are …

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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 …

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Adult Arrested Child Injury (18 and Under) Missouri Ohio Ongoing Investigation

MONDAY, AUGUST 9, 2021

Four children were injured today in three incidents in which bullets fired outdoors entered their homes. It appears that the children were all innocent bystanders to gun violence. In Cleveland Heights, Ohio, a 13-year old from Wisconsin was struck and killed while standing inside the home where he was visiting.  It is unclear why shots …

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Child Injury (18 and Under) Child Under 18 (as Shooter) Illinois Maryland Ohio Ongoing Investigation Pennsylvania Texas Washington Wisconsin

FRIDAY, AUGUST 6, 2021

The epidemic of gun violence affecting the nation’s children continued unabated today. In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a 6-year old found a loaded gun in his home and shot himself in the hand.  He is in stable condition at the hospital. Also today, at least eleven teenagers were shot and injured in separate episodes of gun violence.  …

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Child Death (18 and Under) Child Under 18 (as Shooter) Illinois Ongoing Investigation

THURSDAY, AUGUST 5, 2021

In the latest incident in a rash of accidental shootings involving young children this week, Makayla McKay, a four-year old Chicago, Illinois girl was shot and killed by another child inside her home.  “It was an accident,” a Police Superintendent said. “A visiting relative brought a gun to visit inside the home. It was in …

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Child Death (18 and Under) Child Injury (18 and Under) Child Under 18 (as Shooter) Mississippi Ohio Ongoing Investigation

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 4, 2021

Shamyrion Alexander of Dayton, Ohio, age 11, was shot and killed by an 11-year old relative today.  The boys had “gained access” to a .40 caliber handgun when it fired and killed Shamyrion, according to police.  “It is a huge concern when young people gain access to firearms. Obviously, we see the tragic result that …

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Child Death (18 and Under) Child Under 18 (as Shooter) Children and Guns Juvenile Arrested Louisiana Michigan Ongoing Investigation

MONDAY, AUGUST 2, 2021

Two children were accidentally shot and killed by older siblings in their homes today. A third child, age 8, found a loaded gun in his home and shot himself. A 12-year old Baton Rouge, Louisiana child was arrested and placed in juvenile detention after admitting that he accidentally shot and killed his four-year old sister.  …

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Child Death (18 and Under) Child Under 18 (as Shooter) Missouri Ongoing Investigation Utah Wisconsin

SUNDAY, AUGUST 1, 2021

Three children shot and killed themselves today with loaded guns they found in their homes.  In each case, few details were reported.  In Smithfield, Utah, a five-old and his family returned from a camping trip on Tuesday night and left their camping gear in a downstairs room.  The boy came downstairs early on Tuesday morning …

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