15-year old Detroit girl shot and killed by her 17-year old brother

Kadijah James, age 16

A 15-year old girl, Kadijah James, was at her new home in Detroit, Michigan with her 17-year old brother, where they had lived for only a couple months, when he shot her in the chest and killed her with a gun that was apparently bought off the street.

The shooting appears to be unintentional.  No charges.

From the article and video:

Police said Kadijah's 17-year-old brother shot her while playing with a gun.  They were in their home in the 3600 block of Lenox when the gun went off.  They were home alone with another teenage relative.

“The gun accidentally went off and hit her in the chest,” said aunt Charmaine Crowell.

Family members tell us that police took the brother in for questioning.  Relatives outside the home said they did not know who owned the gun.

“She was good.  She was an ‘A’ student in school.  Everybody loved her.  She had plenty of friends, plenty of friends,” said Crowell.  Kadijah was in the tenth grade.

Crowell said that her niece had her 16th birthday coming up on August 3. 

“She was very excited.  Her mother was going to get her a car,” said Crowell.

Every gun in the hands of a child must first pass through the hands of an adult.

11-year old boy killed by 8-year old brother playing with stolen gun

Two brothers, ages 11 and 8, took a loaded, unsecured handgun from the home of an elderly couple where they had been doing yard work, and played with it in nearby woods.  Sadly, the 8-year old shot his brother in the head, killing him.

From an article:

Deputies were told at first that an unknown person had fired from an unknown direction, but they found a handgun hidden in the woods, the Sheriff’s Office said.

Authorities said the older boy was shot accidentally by his brother as they were playing.
The gun had been taken from a secured area on the property of an elderly neighbor when the boys went to his house to help with yardwork, authorities said.

No charges had been filed, and the county prosecutor’s office would review the incident, authorities said.

Every gun in the hands of a child must first pass through the hands of an adult.

11-year old Georgia girl killed by sibling playing with gun in back seat of a truck

A 11-year old girl was traveling with her family in Whitfield County, Georgia, when one of her siblings riding in the back of her family truck with her got hold of a loaded, unsecured handgun.  The gun discharged, killing the girl.

From the article:

Scott says the fatal shooting Friday night appears to have been a "tragic accident." The girl was riding in the back of a pickup truck with her siblings and other children when she was shot. Scott says it appears that one of the girl's siblings was playing with a handgun when she was shot. Their parents were in the cab of the truck.

Every gun in the hands of a child must first pass through the hands of an adult.

15-year old San Antonio boy wounded in leg in drive-by

A 15-year old boy and his brother were walking down a street in San Antonio, Texas, when a black SUV pulled up and someone inside started firing at them.  The 15-year old was wounded in the leg.

From the article and news video:

The teenager was hit once in the leg by what police said appeared to be a small handgun.

The wounded boy is expected to be okay.

The shooter remains on the run.

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2-year old Colorado Springs boy shoots himself with unsecured gun

A 2-year old boy in Colorado Springs, Colorado got hold of an unsecured, loaded handgun in his apartment and shot himself.  The bullet hit his arm and grazed his chest.  He is in the hospital but expected to recover and be released soon.

Three adults were in the apartment at the time, including the parents.  No charges.

From the article:

While it appears the child is okay, officers said this is another example of the importance of gun safety.

"If you do have a weapon, make sure it's unloaded, and always treat it as if it is loaded. And if they need a gun lock or a trigger, those can be easily obtained, and that's always good to have, especially if there are children in the home," Barbara Miller, spokeswoman for the Colorado Springs Police Department, said.

Every gun in the hands of a child must first pass through the hands of an adult.

9-year old boy shot and killed by stray bullet in North Carolina

Leon Alde Halley III, age 9

9-year old Leon Alde Halley III was visiting Wallace, North Carolina with his mother when he was caught up in a drive-by shooting.  Though he was an unintended target, he was shot and killed.

A felon was arrested for the shooting.

From an article:

Nine-year-old Leon Alde Halley III and his mother, Latanya Turner Halley,  were in Wallace N.C.visiting friends for Memorial Day weekend when  the child was hit by a bullet and died. Nine on Your Side reports that Wallace police have 24-year-old Meshan Kentay MacMillian in custody. They are charging him with first degree murder, possession of a firearm by a felon, and discharging a weapon into an occupied dwelling in a moving vehicle. Police believe that more arrests will soon be made as they believe MacMillian was not acting alone.

Wallace Police Chief Bobby Maready said, “It involves a long-running kind of feud amongst different factions, but the victim was not the intended target. We do know that. He just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

According to a related news video, Leon's family had just driven down from Yonkers, New York, and had only been in the home for a few hours.  Leon was shot while his mother was nearby, making cupcakes.

Bullets don't know when to stop.

16-year old Ohio boy shoots mother and flees

Shooter Michael Mason, age 16

16-year old Michael Mason somehow acquired a .22-caliber pistol and shot his mother once in the back, then fled his Willard, Ohio, home.  Police eventually caught up to him and arrested him after a manhunt and a lockdown of area schools.  The mother was taken to the hospital and is in stable condition.

The boy was being homeschooled after having been kicked out of school for threatening students, and had recently tried to steal his mother's car.

From the article with 911 call and police interview video:

Last year, Michael was kicked out of school for threatening other students, Danhoff said.
He didn’t return to school, opting instead for homeschooling.

Danhoff remembered the teen as “quiet” and “laid back.” During the expulsion hearings, Michael showed remorse for his actions and tried to explain why he did what he did, Danhoff said. 

“He said he was frustrated with his friends,” Danhoff said. “He said when he got frustrated he got angry, and said some things he really didn’t really mean.”

“Actually, he handled himself pretty well,” Danhoff said. 

Wednesday afternoon, students in the Willlard High School parking lot said much of the same. 

“He was always kind of quiet,” student Moses Lopez said. “He wrote poems to girls. I didn’t see the violence in him.”

The article says the gun was stolen, but does not indicate where it was stolen from.

Related article and video of the boy being escorted by law enforcement, and about him possibly being tried as an adult.

Every gun in the hands of a child must first pass through the hands of an adult.