Author: BethJoslinRoth

It’s Not Been A Good Year for Kids and Negligently Stored Guns – And the Year Isn’t Over Yet

BethJoslinRoth

*This post has been updated with new numbers.  Since Friday, a shooting earlier this week in Knoxville, Tennessee involving a 16-year-old has been classified as a self-inflicted, unintentional shooting and another child, a 1-year-old in Memphis, Tennessee was shot and killed by a 3-year-old sibling with a gun left on a bed near the infant.

With just over seven weeks remaining in 2017, according the CFSA database we have already surpassed the total number of children injured by negligently stored firearms, and are close to tying the total number of children killed.  These numbers will only increase as the year draws to a close.  Unintentional shooting incidents spike around the holidays when kids are at home. Last December, there were 38 total incidents, resulting in the deaths of 16 kids and one adult. Continue Reading →

Kids, Guns, and Cars Are A Dangerous Combination

BethJoslinRoth

Responsible storage means storing guns responsibly at all times, whether they are in a home or in a vehicle. Leaving guns unsecured in cars not only greatly increases the chances of theft, it also greatly increases the chances of a child finding the gun and pulling the trigger.  So far this year, there have been 24 cases of a child shooting themselves or someone else in a car. 

Six of those shootings have occurred this month. Continue Reading →

WHAT IS HAPPENING IN TENNESSEE? OVER THREE DAYS, THREE KIDS UNINTENTIONALLY SHOT THEMSELVES

BethJoslinRoth

From The Safe Tennessee Project:

Over a three day period, three Memphis children shot themselves with negligently stored firearms. On Friday, a 4-year-old little girl was home with two other other children and their father when she picked up a gun and unintentionally shot herself with it.  She was taken to the hospital in critical condition.  Just one day later on Saturday, a 4-year-old boy unintentionally shot himself.  He was taken to the hospital in critical condition and later died. Then, on Sunday, an 8-year-old boy found his father’s gun hidden under a pillow and shot himself with it.  He did not survive. Continue Reading →

THE NATION’S SHAMEFUL PROBLEM WITH KIDS AND UNINTENTIONAL SHOOTINGS ISN’T GETTING BETTER

BethJoslinRoth

There are many things that are unique to the United States.  Unfortunately, one of them is the number of our children who are injured and killed when they find unsecured, loaded guns and fire them.  These shootings are #NotAccidents.  They are the direct result of an adult’s choice not to store their gun responsibly.  In the first week of July, there were fourteen shootings involving kids with access to negligently stored firearms.  Seven of the kids died.  The youngest was only 3-years-old.

There has been an uptick in incidents this year compared to 2016.  Although the number of fatalities remains close, the number of incidents and number of injuries have increased significantly.

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So far this year – January 1 to present —

Total incidents: 189*
Injuries: 125
Fatalities: 67

*Includes incidents where more than one child were injured or killed in single shooting incident.

The youngest shooter was a Nashville 1-year-old

106 of the shooters were 13 or younger

10 children shot a cousin or relative

1 child, a 2-year-old toddler, shot and injured his mother

28 children shot a sibling. 10 of those siblings died.

120 shootings occurred at the shooter’s home

12 shootings occurred at a friend’s home

14 shootings occurred in a vehicle

This summer in America – June 1 to present —

Total incidents: 48*
Injuries: 29
Fatalities: 21

*Includes incidents where more than one child were injured or killed in single shooting incident.

Nationally, there has been an uptick incidents this year compared to 2016.  Although the number of fatalities remains close, the number of incidents and number of injuries have increased significantly.

UPDATE: Another Terrible Month for Kids with Access to Unsecured Guns

BethJoslinRoth

*UPDATE: Another incident occurred on June 30th.  That brings total number of shootings in June to 34.  In the last week of June there were 14 shootings – 14 shootings in 7 days.

As June draws to a close, once again there were more kids shot as a result of negligently stored firearms (33) than there were days in the month.  This month also saw two incidents where a child unintentionally shot an adult, in one case killing the adult.

In the last week alone, there were at least 13 shootings that were the direct result of an adult’s careless choice to leave their firearm unsecured. Of those 13 shootings, three resulted in a fatality.  In one case, an 11-year-old in Montgomery, Alabama child was playing with a gun and unintentionally shot and injured a 16-year-old and killed a 9-year-old.  The 11-year-old has been charged with reckless murder and second-degree assault.  There have not been any charges filed against the adult gun owner.

13 shootings in 7 days.

These are not accidents.  They are fully preventable tragedies that are the direct result of adult negligence.  Every gun in a child’s hands must first pass through an adult’s.  The single most important responsibility of being a gun owner is keeping guns out of the hands of children.  Safe storage saves lives. 

JUNE 2017
KIDS WITH ACCESS TO UNSECURED GUNS BY THE NUMBERS:

 

Total incidents: 34

Children injured: 19

Children killed: 14

Adults injured: 1

Adults killed: 1

Children who shot themselves: 14

Children who shot a sibling: 7

Children who shot a friend: 9

Children who shot a cousin: 2

Shooters under age 13: 14

Shooters between ages 13-17: 16

Shooters between ages 1-3 (toddlers): 6

Youngest victim: 2-years-old (2 incidents, 1 fatality)

States with highest number of incidents: Ohio (4), Florida (3), South Carolina (3), Tennessee (3)

Data from the Children’s Firearm Safety Alliance (CFSA) database which uses news stories and police reports gathered by The Gun Violence Archive and news alerts.  More information on individual cases can be found in the searchable CFSA database.