Reports of Unintended Gun Violence Collected from Media Reports Across the United States
A 12-year old innocent bystander was shot and killed in Leavenworth, Kansas today. One adult and two juveniles have been arrested in connection with the incident. The adult, Darvon Thomas, age 25, is charged with felony murder. Police reported that gunshots also struck a vehicle occupied by a 30-year-old woman and a 6-month-old child. Source: …
In Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Trevion Cole, a 5-year old, was shot and killed by another child. The two children had found a loaded gun. An adult who was home at the time was not in the room when the accident occurred. On the same day, Sara Collins, a 14-year old Oklahoma City girl, was also …
In Tallahassee, Florida, an innocent bystander was killed when two groups of people opened fire at each other in a local gas station parking lot. Police later arrested two suspects and charged them with felony murder. Source: “Update: Two Men Arrested in Connection to Fatal Circle K Shooting,” WCTV.tv (March 24, 2021).
In Louisiana today, there were two different innocent bystander shootings. Three people were injured, and a five-year old child has died. In Shreveport, Louisiana, one of two men arguing in a hotel parking lot fired a gun. The bullet penetrated the wall of the hotel and struck a five-year old in the head and grazed …
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 …
One woman was killed and another injured in innocent bystander incidents today. There have been three such incidents in the last two days. In Waco, Texas, a woman was inside her apartment when she was struck and killed by a bullet fired in an incident outside her home. She was found later by her roommate. …
Gudelia Vallinas of Queens, New York, age 37, was an innocent bystander caught between two rival gangs when she was shot and killed on Friday. Ms. Vallinas was an unintended target when two groups of 6 to 7 teenagers each starting firing at each other at a Queens housing complex. “I heard the gunshots, like …
At Desert Sky Mall in Phoenix, Arizona, a 17-year old boy was shot as an innocent bystander to an argument between others about a pair of sneakers. Alejandro Martinez, a high-school student, was shot and killed on the anniversary of the Parkland High School murders. According to the report, gunfire erupted at a kiosk inside …
Two 55-year old innocent bystanders were shot inside a New Orleans, Louisiana hospital when a woman outside fired a gun in an attempt to settle an argument. Both of the victims are expected to survive. A man and a woman were arguing on an on-ramp to the emergency room when the woman fired a gun …
Two innocent bystanders were accidentally shot at 2:06 A.M. on Bourbon Street in New Orleans. According to the report, two people opened fire on each other. Neither of the shooters was hit. The two victims were an 18-year old woman and a 57-year old man. Police are looking for the shooters. Source: “NOPD Investigating Double …
In Denver, Colorado, a four-year old girl sitting in a parked car was critically injured when a nearby dispute about a car improperly parked in a handicapped space resulted in gunfire. According to police, the girl “was caught in the crossfire when the suspect left a business and started shooting at another man taking pictures …
In New York City, New York a 41-year old innocent bystander was shot in the back by a round that was fired near West 64th Street. He is expected to survive. The shooting took place just a few blocks away from Lincoln Center, a cultural community that has more than five million visitors annually. The …
Lessons Learned: [note: hyperlinked material shows in dark blue] November 15, 2020 marked the one-year anniversary of Shattered: The Gun Accident Journal. There are now more than 366 daily reports in the archive, categorized by state and tagged for common safety issues. There are also five chronological narratives that illustrate the steady accumulation of family …
Kristen Whitted, a St. Louis, Missouri woman, died alone in her car when she has struck by a stray bullet fired in a shootout between two cars on Interstate I-170. An innocent bystander, she “had no connection to the other vehicles and was caught in the crossfire.” Kristen’s family released the following statement: “Kristen always …
For the second day in a row, a four-year old child was an unintended shooting victim. In Tacoma, Washington, shots were fired into the window of a home. The four-year old was the only person struck. She was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Source: Stacia Glenn, “4-year-old Girl Shot, Injured While Inside …
Two young children were innocent victims of gun violence on Halloween. Both were bystanders when arguments broke out and shots were fired. In New York City, an 8-year old, her father and a third bystander were wounded by gunfire outside a supermarket. All three victims are in stable condition. According to a witness, three gunshots …
Diana Davis of Chester, Pennsylvania was driving home from work when she was killed by a stray bullet fired along her route. Video shows her car then slowly crashing into a utility pole. No arrests have yet been made. “Turn yourself in man. Turn your damn dumb self in. It doesn’t make no sense. That’s …
The impact of random gunfire on innocent bystanders was felt again today, when Bertha Arriaga, a mother of three boys, was shot and killed in her bedroom in Queens, New York. The bullet passed through a window and struck her in the neck. One of Arriaga’s sons found her bleeding on the floor. “He found …
In Miami, Florida, Pastor Gregory Boyd was an innocent bystander killed when caught between two arguing groups of men firing guns. Pastor Boyd “was known for the high-energy messages he would deliver at New Birth Harvest Outreach Ministries Churches of Deliverance.” Boyd was walking in front of a shoe store at a local mall when …
In Chicago, Illinois, a mail carrier was the innocent victim of a drive-by shooting. She was accidentally shot four times while delivering the mail and is in critical condition. She was struck in the legs, stomach and back of her head by shots fired from one of two cars traveling past at a high rate …
In yet another innocent bystander shooting, 14-year old K-Ron Surratt was shot and killed near his home in Emporia, Virginia. K-Ron was getting ready to enter the 9th grade. His mother said, “K-Ron was ‘a very outspoken person, he was fun to be around, he loved to listen to music, he loved to dance,’ as …
A 5-year old and a 4-year old were victims of shootings today as innocent bystanders. The 5-year old was attending a birthday party in Fresno, California when she was struck by a stray bullet fired by one of several people arguing in the neighborhood. According to the report, police do not believe that the 5-year …
In a tragic accident in Trenton, New Jersey, a long-time state employee was working on her front porch when she was shot and killed by a stray bullet. Vernetta McCray, 39, was an employee of New Jersey’s department of children and families. Phil Murphy, New Jersey’s governor praised McCray for her dedication and service. “This …
In separate incidents in the nation’s capital, an 8-year old girl and a 5-year old boy were struck and injured by gunfire. The news report also describes recent Washington, DC incidents in which 11-year old Davon McNeal and 17-year old Christopher Brown were struck and killed by gunfire. In each of these incidents, the victim …
A two-year old girl who was caught in the crossfire when shots were fired is dead. A girl the police identified only as “Jo Jo” was in a car in Hammond, Indiana with her mother when the incident occurred. Jo Jo’s mother was unharmed. According to police, neither Jo Jo nor her mother had a …
The pandemic of gun violence across the country continues to have unintended consequences for innocent bystanders. Two children who were playing in an empty lot in Kalamazoo, Michigan were struck by gunfire today during a gun battle between people firing shots from two different vehicles. Although the shooting was presumably intentional, the accidental injuries to …
Another innocent bystander was struck by gunfire today. In North Charleston, South Carolina, a woman trying to hide from gunshots was accidentally struck by a man who appeared to be firing for no reason outside a club. The suspect was apparently shooting in the air without intending to hit anyone. Source: Tony Fortier-Bensen, “Female Injured …
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 Chester, Pennsylvania, 7-year old Sinsir Parker was found dead after being hit by a “stray bullet” during an apparent drive-by shooting. He had been shot in the face and was discovered lying in the middle of the street. Police are investigating. The report noted that the incident was the 14th homicide in Chester in …
The Associated Press reported that it had gathered reports of 1,422 unintentional gun discharges by police since 2012 at 258 different law enforcement agencies. It called its information gathering a “snapshot” of the problem because there are no reporting requirements for such incidents. The reports document all incidents in which a gun went off when …