Reports of Unintended Gun Violence Collected from Media Reports Across the United States
Two young girls were accidentally shot and killed today, one in Arizona and the other in Michigan. In Tempe, Arizona, a four-year old girl found an older sibling’s loaded gun hidden under a piece of furniture and shot and killed herself. The girl’s sibling apparently told police that the gun was placed out of sight …
For the second time in a week, a Milwaukee, Wisconsin toddler found a loaded gun and shot himself. This time a two-year old is in critical condition. A news report states that a 28-year old woman was arrested in connection with the incident. Just last Saturday, a Milwaukee three-year old found a gun and killed …
In Union, Missouri, a four-year old founded a loaded gun under the couch where his father was sleeping. The boy shot and killed himself. According to the local sheriff, the boy’s father, Scott E. Hilton, Jr., was restricted from having a gun in the home. Hilton was arrested and charged with second degree murder during …
Three people were injured when a Bath, Maine two-year old found a loaded 9 mm pistol on a nightstand in his parent’s bedroom. According to a report of the incident, the boy’s mother “sustained a ‘clean gunshot wound’ to her leg and the father, 25, sustained a minor injury to the back of his head. …
Police in Orlando, Florida are investigating an incident in which a four-year old child found a loaded gun and fired it. These are the available details according to a tweet by the Orlando police: “Upon investigating, officers determined that a 4-year-old child picked up a firearm and accidentally discharged it. The child suffered a non-life-threatening …
In Saint Joseph County, Indiana, a two year-old found a gun and shot himself. Police say the child suffered multiple non-life-threatening injuries to his right foot, left leg and left hand and is being treated at the hospital. Police did not say how the child found the gun, but they are seeking at least one …
A three-year old child in Milwaukee, Wisconsin found a loaded gun in his home and shot himself to death. When the boy’s uncle sought emergency help, a medical assistant who was visiting next door responded. She said the boy’s mother was incredibly distraught. “I can still hear her screaming so I just hope it’s a …
A 17-year old, a 12-year old and a four-year old were injured in gun accidents today. In Rigby, Idaho, a 17-year old was removing his gun from a vehicle while fishing with friends when the gun accidentally fired and he was struck in the chest. He was flown to the hospital and is expected to …
Police in Statesville, North Carolina announced that a two-year old child found a loaded gun on a bed in their home and shot themselves. The child is in stable condition. The owner of the gun and the child’s mother were arrested. The gun owner, Erin Vanderburg, was charged with failure to secure a gun to …
A 14-year old was killed and a 16-year old was injured in separate gun accidents today. The 14-year old died after accidentally shooting himself in a residence on Butter and Egg Road in Madison County, Alabama. There is no reporting about how he got his hands on a gun. He was found dead when paramedics …
In Elkhart, Indiana, a five-year old boy found a loaded gun in his family’s mobile home and shot himself in the chest. Police have confirmed that the shooting was accidental. The boy went to the hospital with life-threatening injuries, although after surgery, he is expected to survive. “My child. That’s what ran through my mind,” …
Two three-year old boys gained access to loaded handguns in separate accidents and shot themselves. Available reporting suggests that the parents were treated differently after the two incidents. Neither report suggests that police are asking why gun manufacturers are allowed to make guns that a three-year old can fire. In Bakersfield, California, 29-year old Shawndel …
In Fort Worth, Texas, three-year old Lauryn Barrett found a gun in the door of the family car during a trip to Oakland Lake Park. She fired the gun and killed herself. A witness said he looked out the window of his home to see a family begging for help. “I saw the woman on …
Another Texas child died today in an unintentional shooting after being shot by a child who had found a loaded gun. In Dallas, a 9-year old boy found the gun in a car and shot an 11-year old child who was later pronounced dead at the hospital. The two boys were left unattended in the …
Police believe that a Houston, Texas three-year old found a loaded gun in his home today. He shot and killed his 8-month old brother, Royal Gordon. Four adults were home at the time. Police say it is unclear how the child got ahold of the weapon as they continue to investigate. As usual, there was …
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 …
A three-year old in Baker, Louisiana, found and pulled the trigger on his father’s loaded gun while his father was making lunch. The gun had recently been purchased for the family’s protection. The boy is now dead. It was unclear whether the boy’s father will face charges. “I believe in gun ownership. I grew up …
In Clendenin, West Virginia, Heather Marie Allen, age 30, was coyote hunting when she placed her loaded rifle up against her SUV. The rifle fell and discharged without a trigger pull, striking Allen in the leg. Her injuries are not expected to be life threatening. As a recent Violence Policy Center gun safety study noted, …
In an accident that appears to have been related to use of alcohol, a Cedar Falls, Iowa man was found on the street with a gunshot wound to his leg. Police applied a tourniquet until medical help arrived. Two other men were arrested at the scene of the accident, one on weapons charges and the …
Returning once again to central Ohio, a 7-year old Columbus girl found a gun in her home and accidentally shot herself. She was rushed to the hospital for surgery and is expected to survive. After officers spoke with those who took the child to the hospital, detectives said they will continue to treat the shooting …
In Greenville, North Carolina, an 8-year old boy found a loaded gun in the glove box of his family’s car and accidentally shot himself in the abdomen. He later died at the hospital. A police spokesperson said, “[g]uns can be very appealing to young children particularly children of this age and words cannot express the …
In Fort Worth, Texas, an 8-year old found a loaded gun in his uncle’s home and shot himself in the leg. The boy’s injuries are not considered life-threatening and no charges have been filed at this time. Source: Jack Howland, “Boy, 8, Accidentally Shoots Himself in the Leg in Uncle’s Fort Worth Home, Police Say,” …
Two three-year olds were killed in gun accidents today. In Monroeville, Pennsylvania, a three-year old girl was shot by a five-year old sibling who had apparently found a loaded gun in their home. The child was identified as Braya Sanders. Police are investigating, but have stated that the girl’s parents are cooperating and that the …
Two teenagers and a child were injured and hospitalized in separate gun accidents today. A 35-year old man and a 32-year old woman were also hospitalized after a fourth accident. In yet another unintentional shooting in central Ohio, an 18-year old who was playing with a gun was rushed to the hospital with life threatening …
In Four Oaks, North Carolina, a child riding in the back seat of a vehicle found a loaded gun and accidentally shot his mother in the face while she was driving. A Sheriff’s deputy called the shooting a “horrible accident” and “not a deliberate act.” The mother was rushed to the hospital, but her injuries …
Teon Burwell, a 10-year old Richmond, Virginia boy found a loaded gun in his home and accidentally shot himself to death in front of his 12-year old brother. “They said he had been shot in the arm and it went through to his other arm. It hit a main artery,” his grandmother said. It remains …
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. …
In Detroit, Michigan, a 13-year old and a three-year old were hurt in separate gun accidents. The three year old was shot by a four-year old sibling while they were playing with a gun. They were being supervised by another sibling, age 13, while their parents were at work. The injured child was in stable …
An 88-year old woman was killed and a three-year old child was seriously injured in separate gun accidents today. In Warren, Ohio, 88-year old Ruth Lewis was planning a funeral with family members when someone shot through a window and killed her. “This was a senseless death caused by a random bullet. Obviously, she wasn’t …
In Hays, Kansas, Raymond Nieman, a 72-year old man, died in a gun accident today. According to the report, he was attempting to secure his shotgun in the rear of his vehicle when it discharged and struck him in the chest. The man was found lying in the street next to his vehicle by a …
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 …
After investigating, police determined that a man found shot on the street in South Sioux City, Iowa had accidentally shot himself. The man had been taken by two good Samaritans to a local hospital. He is not facing charges. Nor will the unidentified man pay, apparently, for the various police and health care resources triggered …
Gabriel Alexis Henderson, a 25-year old mother of five young children in Cornelius, North Carolina, was shot and killed when one of her children found a loaded handgun in her purse. Four of her children were in the room with her at the time of the accident. One of those children was also struck, but …
Two children found guns and injured other children today, once again in Texas and Ohio. In Houston, Texas, a boy described as 6- or 7-years old, found a loaded gun and shot his five-year old sister in the leg. She was hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries. Several family members were home at the time of …
In Auburn Hills, Michigan a 50-year old man who was playing with a gun accidentally shot and killed himself. When police responded to a call about an accidental shooting, they found the victim on the living room floor with a gunshot wound to his head. His semi-automatic pistol was next to him. The victim’s brother, …
In East Chicago, Indiana, a two-year old found an unattended loaded gun in his home and shot himself in the side of the head. The child was conscious when officers found him, a police deputy reported. Family members told police that the boy had located his father’s gun in the residence and shot himself with …
In Edwardsville, Pennsylvania, a 10-year old boy named Connor died in a gun accident at his home. At the time of the accident, he was jumping on a couch. One of the adults in the home was clearing the chamber of a gun when it fired. According to a report, the gun was sent to …
In Baton Rouge, Louisiana, a three-year old boy found a loaded gun in his home and shot himself. Police were alerted to the incident by a call from the hospital. Although the child is expected to survive, there is an ongoing investigation. Source: “Toddler Expected to Survive after Accidental Shooting, Police Say,” Fox 8 Live …
In Ellisville, Mississippi, a four-year old toddler found a loaded semi-automatic pistol in his family car and accidentally shot and killed his two-year old sister. Their mother had left them in the back seat of the car temporarily. The toddler was able to climb out of his car seat and grab the gun. “It’s just …
In Houston, Texas, Gerald Peavy was relaxing in his bed when he was killed by a shot accidentally fired by a friend staying in his living room. Peavy’s wife was with him at the time of the accident. The friend, Norez Hargrove, was examining a gun he had found in Peavy’s home. He told authorities …
There was another accidental gun death of a young child today. A three-year old in Owosso, Michigan found a gun in his home and shot himself. He later died at the hospital. “Owosso Public Safety offers its condolences to any family or friends who have been impacted by this tragic event,” the local public safety …
Two young children were killed in preventable accidental shootings, one in Philadelphia, the other in Detroit. The incidents are strikingly similar. In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, balloons were released at a vigil for nine-year old gun accident victim Nyssa Davis. Davis was shot and killed by a 5-year old relative in her home. The boy had found …
At least three children were accidentally shot and injured today. They were aged 14, 15, and 7. The incidents occurred in states that have been regular sites of gun accidents involving children: Florida, Ohio and North Carolina. The most fully reported of the accidents was in Jacksonville, Florida. Ayva Guthrie, age 14,was accidentally shot by …
In 2017, the Brazilian company Forjas Taurus (“Taurus”)1 recalled nearly a million of its popular pistols2 in the United States as part of the settlement of a class action lawsuit.3 The guns involved have a defect that sometimes causes them to fire even when the gun’s safety was in its “on” position and/or when the …
Once again, a Columbus, Ohio child was hurt in a gun accident. This time a three-year-old girl was hurt when her four-year old brother found a loaded unsecured gun in their home and pulled the trigger. The girl was struck and was hospitalized in stable condition. Source: “Police: 3-year-old Girl Accidentally Shot by 4-year-old Brother …
In Gloucester, Massachusetts, a man with many guns in his apartment accidentally fired one of them through a wall and into his neighbor’s apartment unit. No one was injured. According to a report, investigating officers found a Remington 1100 12G Supermatic, a Remington 1100 20G, a Browning .22 long rifle, a Glock 19 9mm, a …
In Fort Wayne, Indiana, a toddler found a gun and used it to shoot his mother. Her injuries are not considered life threatening, but local police are investigating “possible child neglect.” No other information is available. The incident is one of many recent incidents in Indiana in which young children have been involved in serious …
At Hope’s Closet Thrift Store in Jacksonville, Florida, a “young child” found a gun and shot herself in the hand. She was treated at the hospital. The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office says “no criminal activity is being investigated at this time.” Source: Mindy Wadley, “Child Taken to Hospital after Finding Gun in Southside Thrift Store, Accidentally …
A 15-year old boy in Pittston, Maine shot himself in the hand with his grandfather’s two -shot Derringer today. Police said the boy went behind a garage wearing a coat that belonged to his grandfather. The boy found the pistol in a pocket and “tried to pull the hammer back, when his thumb slipped off, …
Four-year old Andre Walker of Sedalia, Missouri, found a loaded gun in his home. He shot and killed himself. Two other children were in the home at the time. Police say the investigation is continuing but no foul play is suspected. Source: “Sedalia 4-year-old Dies after Accidentally Shooting Himself,” Fox 4 KC (January 5, 2021).
A pair of two-year old children were shot and critically injured today, one in Kentucky and the other in Maine. Police are investigating both incidents. In Louisville Kentucky, a two-year old girl found a gun and shot herself. She is expected to survive. Police are investigating how she got the gun. In Waterville, Maine, a …
In Richmond, Indiana, a four-year old child was flown to a Dayton, Ohio hospital after suffering an accidental gunshot wound. Police arrested 23-year-old Khylier Childress-Shelby and preliminarily charged him with possession of a handgun without a license and neglect of a dependent. Although the charges are consistent with an incident in which the child found …
In Las Vegas, Nevada, Jasmin Vargas was charged with two counts of “child abuse and neglect with substantial bodily harm leading to death” after she accidentally shot her 3-year old son. Vargas was a new gun owner who was showing the gun off to her friends in the parking lot of a local apartment complex. …
Children in Michigan, Indiana and Idaho died in gun accidents today. The Michigan accident occurred in Canton Township. Eight-year old Jack Bennett, an only child, died when a bullet discharged as his father was cleaning a gun. According to his mother, Tammy Snyder, “[i]t was a freak accident. It was supposed to be an unloaded …
A summary of lessons learned from cataloging gun accident reports for more than a year can be found here.
On the 8th anniversary of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, at least four children were killed or injured in gun accidents. Three of the incidents involved guns that were found by the children themselves or by other children. The fourth involved a child who was hit by a stray bullet while walking on the …
In Jackson, Mississippi, a 15 year-old girl was accidentally shot in the neck when she found a gun under a couch. She remains in the hospital in critical condition. According to a witness, when the girl found the gun, a 14-year old boy attempted to take it away from her and the gun went off. …
In Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, a 12-year old girl was accidentally shot in the wrist by a 12-year old friend. When police arrived at the scene, they found the girl with blood dripping down her arm and a sweatshirt tied around her hands. Witnesses told police that the 16-year old had accidentally shot the girl. According …
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 …
At Lenox Square Mall in Atlanta, Georgia, a city plagued with recent gun violence, police responded to shots fired inside the Neiman Marcus store. Police concluded that “the gunfire was the result of a person walking through the store and adjusting his pants when the firearm he had in his waistband went off.” No one …
At least three children were victims of gun accidents today; two were killed and one was wounded. The accidents occurred in Georgia, California and Ohio. Five-year old Jada Willingham was killed in Lithonia, Georgia after being shot by another child who found a gun in her home. Police arrested 35-year old Chad Brooks, Sr. whose …
For the second day in a row, a three-year old boy found a gun at home and shot himself. Today’s accident occurred in Isbell, Alabama. The boy was airlifted to a hospital where he is in stable condition. Authorities have not said whose gun the boy found or why he was able to fire it. …
On Thanksgiving Day, a three-year old in Grand Blanc Township, Michigan found a gun in a bedroom at his home and shot himself in the head. He is in critical condition at a local hospital. “There’s really no words to describe it in most cases like this,” said Grand Blanc Township Police Chief Ron Wiles. …
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 …
In Columbus, Ohio, a 23-month old toddler found a loaded gun in his home and shot himself in the stomach. He was taken to the hospital and is expected to survive. Several adults and other children were reportedly in the home when the accident occurred. No arrests have been reported. Source: “Toddler Taken To …
A four-year old North Charleston, South Carolina boy died in a gun accident today. He apparently found a loaded gun and accidentally shot himself, though few details are available. No arrests have been made, but the police continue to investigate. According to the report, “South Carolina doesn’t punish firearm owners for leaving their weapons out, …
In Candor, North Carolina, an 11-year old was killed in a gun accident that occurred while he was visiting a friend. The child’s name has not been released. “Investigators learned there were six children in the home at the time of the incident and were left unsupervised, while the mother was at work,” the County …
In Detroit, Michigan, an altercation concerning a stolen Uber Eats delivery led to the accidental shooting of a 21-month old girl who was sitting in her mother’s car. The girl’s mother believed that chicken she had ordered had been stolen by her neighbors. In the ensuing argument, one of the neighbors apparently brought out a …
At the Solid Rock Ministry Church in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, a ten-year old boy with a gun shot into the church and accidentally struck his grandmother twice. The boy found the gun in a living area inside the church building. Police said people were inside the church when the boy started firing rounds into the building …
Continuing a spate of recent incidents in which people have been shot by relatives who mistakenly believed that they were defending their homes, a Port Salerno, Florida man shot and killed his pregnant wife. “I just shot my wife. My life is over,” the unidentified man is quoted as saying. He told investigators that he …
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 …
A nine-year old and an eight-year old were killed in gun accidents today. The nine-year old shot herself with a weapon found in her Detroit, Michigan home. Two other children 10 and under were home at the time of the incident. However, no adults were present. “We are seeing this too often, please put your …
In Birmingham, Alabama, a 5-year old child was injured after shooting himself in a car with his father’s gun. The boy’s father told police that he left the child in the vehicle while he went back inside, and when he returned “he found the child covered in blood and drove him to the hospital.” He …
Three children under ten-years old were shot by accident in separate incidents today. Two of the incidents occurred in connection with drive-by shootings in Mississippi. In the first, in Roxie Mississippi, six-year old Robert London was killed when someone fired into his home for unknown reasons. He was hit in the head. “They went by …
An unidentified three-year old in Porter, Texas found a gun and shot himself in the chest at his own birthday party. He later died at the local fire station. The boy’s family members were playing cards at the time of the accident. The gun had fallen out of the pocket of someone present at the …
Two children were accidentally shot and killed today. In Merced, California today, a 5-year old girl was shot and killed by another child who found a loaded and unsecured gun in the home. Her father drove her to the hospital where she died. The girl’s father, Rodney Mathews, left her at the hospital and led …
In Montgomery, Michigan, a group of curious toddlers found a loaded gun while their parents were in the kitchen making dinner. One of the kids used the gun to shoot another child, age three, in the neck and face. The three-year old was taken to the hospital and is in stable condition. The Michigan State …
James Kenneth Lindquester, a Beaverton, Oregon three-year old, found a gun in his home and shot himself in the head. According to authorities, the loaded gun was in a bedside table. James was pronounced dead at the hospital. In Hemet California, a 75-year old woman was accidentally shot and killed by her caregiver as he …
Three children under age 10 shot themselves today. In Chicago, Illinois, three boys left home alone while their father was picking up their mother from the hospital found a loaded gun. One of the boys, a five-year old, accidentally shot his nine-year old brother in the head. The boy, Ashton Lipscomb, died at the hospital. …
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 …
A six-year old boy was shot by a sibling while sitting in the parking lot of a Family Dollar Store in Dutchtown, Louisiana. He is in critical condition after being taken by MedEvac helicopter to a nearby hospital . No information is available other than that the siblings were sitting together in a car. Presumably, …
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 …
An 11-year old in Flint, Michigan is in critical condition after a gun accident. At the time of the shooting, the boy was home alone with three other kids ranging in age from 9 to 14. Investigators have not determined who pulled the trigger. “They got a hold of a firearm that was inside the …
A two-year old in Bakersfield, California accidentally shot a relative with a loaded gun he found inside his apartment. The unidentified woman is in critical condition at the hospital. “At this point, we are going through all the various interviews and still doing some follow-up investigations as far as where the gun was located, how …
A nine-year old Clayton, North Carolina boy shot his two-year old sister in the head today. The girl was taken to the hospital where she is in serious condition. Police were looking into how the boy found a loaded handgun in his home. Under North Carolina law, the boy’s parents could face charges if the …
In Greenwood, South Carolina, a nine-year old boy found a gun in the center console of the family car today and shot himself. He was taken to the hospital with his parents, where his injuries are not considered life threatening. There is an ongoing investigation, but no arrests have been made. Certainly everyone is lucky …
In Okaloosa County, Florida, a 19-year old boy is under arrest for manslaughter after accidentally shooting his 21-year old friend shortly before midnight. The two men were tossing an AK-47 back and forth, believing it to be unloaded, when the 19-year old, Mathew Gunn, pulled the trigger. Hugo Sanchez, 21, died of a gunshot wound …
In Eastover, South Carolina, a 12-year old boy was showing a friend a gun that he found in his home when he shot himself in the upper body. The boy was taken to the hospital where he was treated for the wound. Police say two 12-year old boys were home alone at the time of …
For the third day in a row, a child injured himself with a gun found in his home. In this instance, it is a three-year old in Baltimore, Maryland. He was treated at the hospital for a wound to the hand. We continue to need clearer legal requirements for safe storage, better child access prevention …
Two more children shot themselves today with found guns, one in Illinois and one in Oklahoma. In Chicago, a 5-year old boy shot himself in the thigh and was rushed to the hospital after accidentally shooting himself with a gun he found in his home. In Oklahoma City, a 13-year old who was left alone …