Reports of Unintended Gun Violence Collected from Media Reports Across the United States
A Stone Mountain, Georgia 17-year old, Dimitri Hayes, was accidentally shot by his twin brother, Xavier, when the two were playing with a gun in their bedroom. Dimitri was taken to the hospital where he later died from his injuries. Xavier was charged with felony murder and aggravated assault. There is no report at this …
In Smyrna, Tennessee, Lavonte’e Williams, a five-year old, found a loaded gun in his father’s backpack and used it to shoot and kill himself. The incident happened at a basketball court where the boy’s father was playing. There is an ongoing investigation. Source: Erin McCullough, “Child Killed in Smyrna Accidental Shooting Found Gun in Father’s …
In Union County, Tennessee, a “small child” found a handgun in their parent’s car and used it to shoot one of their parents. The injured parent was taken to the hospital for treatment. No other details were reported. Source: “Union Co. Deputies: Parent Hospitalized After Small Child Accidentally Shot Them,” wbir.com (July 16, 2022).
In Madison, Tennessee, a man accidentally shot his brother in the face while cleaning his gun. The injured man is in critical condition at the hospital. No charges are expected. There is no report on whether the gun involved in the incident had a loaded chamber indicator, a magazine safety disconnect, or was a Glock, …
Three more young people were unintentionally shot and killed today. In Detroit, Michigan, 14-year old Kaniyah Bryant was unintentionally shot and killed by her 13-year old boyfriend. According to police, the two children were among a group who were passing around and playing with a stolen gun when the 13-year old shot Kaniyah. She was …
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 …
Kenesha Tyson, a Memphis, Tennessee woman involved in an altercation with her boyfriend, pulled a gun in an attempt to frighten him. She says the gun went off by accident, hitting the man in the chest. He was taken to the hospital in critical condition. Tyson has been charged with criminal attempt 1st-degree murder, aggravated …
Gun accidents occurred all over the country today. In Henrico, Virginia, a 7-year old found his father’s loaded gun and shot himself. His injuries are not considered life-threatening. The boy’s father, Landin Lewis, Sr., was arrested and charged with allowing his son to access the gun. In Somerville, Massachusetts, a police officer shot himself while …
Bryson Jackson, a Memphis, Tennessee three-year old, shot himself to death today with an unsecured and loaded AR-15 that he found in his home. The guns belonged to his mother’s friend, Tedrick Butler. Bryson’s mom, Tinesha Jackson, had left Bryson and another child at home in the care of an uncle while she and Butler …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
A three-year old Nashville, Tennessee child took his mother’s loaded gun from her purse while she was sleeping and shot himself in the abdomen. The child was airlifted to the hospital for emergency surgery. No charges have been filed. Source: Lucas Wright, “3-year-old Shoots Self with Mother’s Gun, Metro Police Say,” wkrn.com (March 8, 2022).
A 48-year old woman was shot while sleeping on a couch in a Nashville, Tennessee apartment near Music Row. Jonerica Johnson, age 28, had fired her gun in the air after being told to leave a bar across the street. Johnson was taken into custody and charged with reckless endangerment, resisting arrest, disorderly contact, public …
Reports suggest that accidental shootings often happen during crimes. This is not surprising because guns obviously highly correlate with criminal activity and accidents happen frequently when guns are present. An example from today’s news: In Nashville, Tennessee, a teenager was driving a stolen car with a gun on his lap when it fired and struck …
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 …
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. …
In Memphis, Tennessee, a man accidentally shot himself at a local Express Inn hotel. He was taken to Regional One Hospital in critical condition. Police did not say whether he would face charges. In Lauderhill, Florida, shooting broke out on the street. A man several houses down from where the shooting occurred was grazed by …
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 …
In Bradley County, Tennessee, a two-year old child found a loaded gun at home, shot themself in the chest, and was later pronounced dead at the local hospital. “A preliminary investigation discovered that the firearm had been left unsecured and the child was able to have access to the weapon.” The child’s father, Matthew Jenkins, …
A Nashville, Tennessee woman heard an argument in the apartment below, then a loud pop, followed by pain in her foot. She had been struck by a round that passed through the floor of her apartment. According to the report, “[o]fficers found the apartment below the victim’s empty with the door slightly open, and a bullet …
In Memphis, Tennessee, two teenagers have been charged with crimes after a third teenager was unintentionally shot to death. None of the children have been identified. The report suggests that a 16-year old boy and girl were hanging out with a 17-year old. The 16-year old boy apparently produced a gun and provided it to …
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 …
One child was killed and three were injured in accidental shootings today. In each case, reports of the incident contain minimal details. In Dallas, Texas, 17-year old Chadrick Good was shot and killed by a 16-year old who accidentally fired a gun while sitting behind Good in a vehicle. The 16-year old has been charged …
For the second time this month, a Sumner County, Tennessee child was killed in a gun accident. In this case, which occurred in the small town of Westmoreland, the sheriff’s office announced only a fatal accident involving the death of a six-year old child. The office stressed that the incident was “purely accidental” and declined …
Two Tennessee children were unintentional victims of gun violence today; an 11-year old was killed and a 5-year old was injured in separate incidents. In Memphis, Tennessee, a single gunshot inside an apartment complex struck and killed an 11-year old, according to neighbors. Police are investigating. “It’s overwhelming, overwhelming, you know what I’m saying,” said …
Two people died today in apparent gun accidents. In Goodlettsville, Tennessee, police found 8-year old Brayden Bowling in his home, suffering from an apparent accidental gunshot wound. No specifics of the incident have been reported, including whether the boy found a loaded gun and shot himself. Brayden later died at the hospital. The principal of …
Seven children under the age of six were killed or injured by gunfire today. All of them were innocent bystanders to adult gun violence. In Memphis Tennessee, a one-year old child was shot and killed inside a vehicle. “Our kids are scared to death out there,” a local community group leader said. The other incidents …
Three children were seriously injured in separate gun accidents today, one in Florida, one in Tennessee and one in Georgia. A 14-year old boy in Miami, Florida was preparing to start working out with his father in the family garage. When he went to move his father’s gun, it went off. The boy was airlifted …
Two teenage boys and a 24-year old woman were killed today in separate gun accidents. In Houston, Texas, 16-year old Chase Swain was killed while he and his friend were playing with a gun that had been stolen the day before. A 17-year old has been charged with manslaughter. In Nashville, Tennessee, 19-year old Juerno …
Three-year old Jamayla Marlowe of Nashville, Tennessee was shot and killed when she was caught in the crossfire of a shootout that erupted between several individuals. Her sister, Antania Butler, age 2, was injured in the incident. The two girls were in a parked car when the shooting started. Afterwards, police identified several men who …
A man’s gun fell out of his pocket today while exiting a vehicle in a parking lot on Tiny Town Road in Clarksville, Tennessee. It drop-fired and struck him in the leg. He was taken to the hospital in unknown condition. The potential for any gun to be dropped is, of course, foreseeable. Some guns …
Kevin Niyibizi, an Antioch, Tennessee 16-year old was accidentally shot and killed by a 17-year old friend, Eric Ishimwe. Niyibizi had brought a gun to his friend’s home that the two were playing with. Ishimwe told police that “he and Niyibizi were both handling and playing with a gun that Niyibizi brought into the home …
13-year old children in Illinois and Tennessee were innocent victims of gun violence today. Both were innocent bystanders when gunfights broke out between others on the street. These incidents are part of an epidemic of innocent bystander shootings associated with a national increase in gun violence. The Chicago, Illinois victim and a man he was …
In Hardeman County, Tennessee, Jonterrious Hampton was arrested and charged with reckless homicide after a gun accident in which a 7-year old boy was killed. After the incident, Hampton took the boy to a local hospital where the boy was pronounced dead. According to Hampton, he was visiting the boy’s siblings at their home. During …
In Clarksville, Tennessee, a two-year old child was killed in a home where there were three children under the age of four. One of the toddlers found an unsecured gun and shot the two-year old. He died at the hospital. Julian Chester, the child’s mother’s boyfriend, was arrested on unrelated charges. Source: “Tenn. Toddler Dies …
Three guns were accidentally fired today. Three injuries resulted. In Thomasville, Georgia, a man was moving his friend’s AR-15 rifle at the request of his friend’s grandmother, without knowing that the gun was loaded, when it inadvertently fired. A child was injured. There is no report on the victim’s condition. In Knightdale, North Carolina, a …
In a story made more complicated because two witnesses initially lied to police, Devin Black, a resident of Powell, Tennessee, was accidentally killed by a gunshot wound to the head. Two witnesses initially told police that Black had been killed by a “black man in a hoodie” who then ran away. In a search, Police …
Two children under the age of five were involved in fatal gun accidents today. Details are scarce. In Adams Township, Ohio, a four year-old died at the hospital after being shot in the chest. The local Sheriff’s office confirmed that the shooting was an accident. It is not clear who fired the gun and no …
There were two reported gun accidents in Tennessee today. In Crossville, a man cleaning his gun at a firepit accidentally shot himself in the thigh. He was flown by “Lifestar” helicopter to a nearby hospital. In Memphis, two young brothers found a gun and one of them was shot in the hand. The boy went …
Two more children died this week in gun accidents that might have been prevented by safe storage laws. Also today, a popular former North Carolina law enforcement officer died while working in Hawaii when a rifle accidentally fired inside a police station. In Memphis, Tennessee, a 14-year old girl died when a boy was handing her …
In Hendersonville, Tennessee John Robert Moore, a two-year old boy, found an unattended loaded handgun in his father’s car and shot himself. His father was a volunteer firefighter and the two were visiting the Shackle Island fire station at the time of the accident. “Everybody loved that little boy,” said Martin Bowers, fire chief for …
Two young boys were shot today in separate gun accidents. A teenage boy accidentally shot himself in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Police are investigating. The boy is at a local hospital in unknown condition. In Covington County, Alabama, a “juvenile” was shot and flown to a Florida hospital in stable condition after playing with a gun he …
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 …
In Springfield, Tennessee, a woman was hit by a stray bullet while walking down the street. She was hospitalized with a non-life threatening wound to her arm. Police are investigating, and believe that the shot was fired on an adjacent street. Source: Jason Hall, “Report: Springfield Woman Accidentally Shot While Walking Down Street,” Fox 17 …
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. …
After accidentally shooting a woman in Paris, Tennessee, the shooter apparently took his own life. After the accident, the shooter accompanied the woman to the hospital. She was admitted and is in stable condition. The man went missing and then shot himself in the hospital’s emergency medical services building. “We have no indication that it …
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 …
Bronson Reed, a 45-year old father in Soddy Daisy, Tennessee was cleaning a 9-mm pistol in his home when it went off unexpectedly. The bullet struck Reed in the leg and then hit his seven-year old son. At the time the story was reported, the child remained hospitalized. An investigation is ongoing. Source: Ken Nicholson …
In Savannah Tennessee, 86-year old Lawrence Smith accidentally shot himself in the leg while sitting in his car outside a gun store. Police administered aid, but Mr. Smith later died of his wound at the hospital. Source: Eyewitness New Staff, “Police: Man Dies Following Accidental Shooting,” WBBJ 7 Eyewitness News (December 31, 2019).
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 …
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 …
In Memphis Tennessee, no charges were filed after a 11-year old boy found a gun in a cousin’s apartment when no adults were home. He accidentally shot and killed himself. The boy found the gun in a holster under the mattress in a room that he was told was off limits to him. The gun’s …