3 year old Missouri girl killed in accidental shooting

A 3 year old girl was shot in an accidental shooting in Missouri. From an article:

A coroner has ruled the shooting death of a 3-year-old Joplin girl was an accident.

Newton County coroner Mark Bridges says Miranda Doerr was shot by someone Monday at her home east of Joplin.

Her 6-year-old brother was in the room with her but Bridges told the Joplin Globe that he can’t say definitively who shot the girl. He says he can only rule that she did not shoot herself.

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

6 year old Florida boy shoots grandfather with assault rifle

A 6 year old Florida boy got his hands on an AK-47 assault type rifle that was left on a table and accidentally shot and killed his grandfather with the gun. From an article:

A man is dead after his 6-year-old grandson accidentally pulled the trigger of his uncle’s unattended rifle during a barbecue at the family’s home.

Juan Manuel Martinez Jr., the 6-year-old’s uncle, was having a barbecue with his father Juan Martinez Sr. on Sunday May 25th.

The two, along with a friend who was visiting, were drinking beer and snorting cocaine while socializing, according to the arrest affidavit.

While hanging out, Martinez Jr., 28, went to his room and retrieved an assault rifle to show to his friend.

While outside, Martinez Jr. removed the magazine, looked inside, and reinserted it into the magazine well. The family friend didn’t wish to touch the rifle, according to the affidavit, but it was then handed to his father, Martinez Sr., who then placed it on a table near the barbecue.

Martinez Sr.’s grandson then grabbed the rifle and pulled the trigger which struck the grandfather in the right side of the chest.

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

5 year old son of North Carolina law enforcement officer injures himself with father's gun

A 5 year old North Carolina boy found the service gun of his father and shot and injured himself. From an article:

A 5-year-old son of a deputy in North Carolina is recovering after he shot himself with his father’s service weapon over the weekend.

Anson County Sheriff’s office said that the boy found the handgun at around 1:15 on Saturday. One round struck the top of the child’s left ear, and he was taken to Levine’s Children’s Hospital in Charlotte.

His father was reportedly at home at the time of the shooting, but he was in another room.

WSOC reported that the deputy, who was identified as Josh Beam, was put on administrative leave. Bream is a 10-year veteran of the department, and lost his bid to be Anson County sheriff in the Democratic primary earlier this month.

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

4 year old Indiana boy shot with gun found at home

In yet another "accidental" shooting by a toddler, this 4 year old Indiana boy managed to find a gun in his parents' bedroom and shot and killed himself with it. From an article:

A 4-year-old boy was fatally shot while holding his parents' gun at his home in Merrillville, Indiana, police said.

Police said the boy found the gun in his parents' bedroom Saturday morning in the 6400 block of Cleveland Street and brought the gun back to his room.

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The gun then went off, striking the boy in the head, Merrillville police said.

The boy, identified as Cash Irby Jr., was taken to Broadway Methodist Hospital South where he was pronounced dead, according to the Lake County Coroner's office.

"[The parents] are devastated, as can be expected," said family member Kelly White-Gibson. "The mother is really distraught."

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

16 year old Oregon boy shot to death while sitting in car

A 16 year old boy was found shot to death in a car in his driveway in an Oregon community:

Officials said the 16-year-old, Lazaro Lizandro Fuentes Burgos, was shot while he sat in a 1994 Nissan Sentra. Neighbors heard shots around 1:40 a.m., but police weren’t notified of the shooting for about an hour.

Burgos lived in Southeast Portland’s Lents neighborhood and has no known gang ties or drug ties. The motive for this shooting is not known, officials said.

Sgt. Pete Simpson, a Portland Police Bureau spokesman, said neighbors in the 5800 block of Northeast 59th called 911 around 3 a.m. after finding the teen inside a parked vehicle suffering from an apparent gunshot wound.

11 year old Oklahoma boy shoots grandmother

An 11 year old boy shot his own grandmother in a Tulsa, Oklahoma apartment:

An 11-year-old has been arrested in a shooting at a south Tulsa apartment complex near 79th Street and South Sheridan Avenue.

Police say a 50-year-old woman was shot in the back of the head around 4 p.m. Monday at Ridgemont Apartments.

Detectives told 2NEWS the woman's 11-year-old grandson was in the apartment at the time of the shooting.

Police say after the shooting, he ran out of the apartment while his grandmother was still conscious but in need of help. The victim called 911.

After questioning the boy, police arrested him on a complaint of shooting with intent to kill. 

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

9 year old New Jersey girl shot outside of grandparents' home

A 9 year old New Jersey girl was playing outside of her grandparents' home when she was shot 3 times by someone in a car. From an article:

A nine-year-old girl is hospitalized after she was shot three times in Trenton on Monday afternoon.

It happened around 3 p.m. on the 200 block of Bellevue Avenue.

Struck by gunfire playing on the sidewalk outside her grandparents’ Trenton home, a nine-year-old girl was hit three times by a spray of bullets police believe were intended for someone else.

“There were shots being fired up in the direction of the block,” says Trenton Police Director Ralph Rivera, Jr. “There was a vehicle that took about nine rounds. We don’t know what role that vehicle is playing right now.”

4 year old South Carolina boy accidentally shoots himself

A 4 year old South Carolina boy found a gun in the home of his grandparents and shot himself:

Police responded to the 800 block of West Richardson Avenue about 4:30 pm after a report about a child with a gunshot wound.

Police say the child found a weapon and shot himself.

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

3 year old and 14 year old Rochester, New York kids hit by "stray" bullets

Two children have been hit by bullets in a Rochester, New York neighborhood. From the article:

The 3-year-old boy who was wounded Monday appears to be an unintended victim of the two shootings that occurred Monday night on Fennimore Avenue, but the same cannot be said of the teen who was wounded, police said today.

“It appears the 14-year-old may’ve been the intended target and that the 3-year-old was struck possibly by a stray shot,” Police Commissioner Daniel Derenda said.

The 3-year-old and 14-year-old, whom relatives identified as Jamal Sanders, remain in critical but stable condition at Women and Children’s Hospital. The 3-year-old suffered a gunshot wound to the chest. The 14-year-old suffered wounds of the neck, back and one leg.

They lived across the street from each other. The shooting apparently happened in a driveway.

3 year old South Carolina boy shot at his home

A 3 year old South Carolina child was shot in his home. No details yet as to the cause of the shooting. As we write so often on this blog, children gain access to unsecured guns in homes far too often.

20 guns found in home of 3 year old Arizona boy who shot himself in March

Arizona officials have released information that 20 guns were found in the Arizona home where a 3 year old toddler shot himself in the stomach. From the article:

Detectives found 20 unsecured guns and thousands of rounds of ammunition throughout the home of the family of a 3-year-old boy who accidentally shot himself in the abdomen March 3, according to reports released last week.

The boy, who survived the shooting, was flown to a Tucson hospital where he underwent surgery.

The case is being referred to the Pima County Attorney's Office, according to a Pima County Sheriff's detective. The boy's parents, Don and Sharina Marion, have not been arrested or charged. Don Marion is the volunteer fire chief for Elephant Head Fire Department.

The boy apparently pulled a small chair up to a counter where his mother was working on a laptop computer, saw the .32-caliber semi-automatic pistol there and shot himself, according to reports. The gun was in an ankle holster with the trigger exposed “and could easily be pulled by almost anyone,” according to a report. (...) 

Sheriff's detectives obtained a search warrant for the house in Elephant Head and found 20 guns along with boxes, cans and bags of ammunition in several rooms. The weapons included shotguns, rifles, a Ruger and a Colt .45 handgun in a holster affixed to the headboard in the master bedroom. The family owns a gun safe where several weapons were found but it was not locked, according to the report. One of the couple's four children told detectives he knew the safe was not locked; another said his father “did not remember the combination to the safe.”

Most of the weapons in the house were not loaded; several had rounds in the chamber and others had rounds in magazines, according to the report.

Sharina Marion told a detective she wasn't aware that there were unsecured guns in the home and indicated she believed the gun safe was locked. The family said the pistol in the shooting was usually kept atop a kitchen cupboard, out of reach of the couple's children, and said it must have fallen.

The Marions told detectives they taught their children, ages 3, 7, 9 and 10, firearms safety, and that they knew the guns were for protection and only to be accessed in an emergency with parental approval. They said all the children had fired guns, including the 3 year old, on a "church shoot" the day before the incident with several members of their church. The toddler pulled the trigger but did not handle the gun alone, according his parents.

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

15 year old California boy shot and killed

A 15 year old California teen was shot and killed near his home:

Family and friends of 15-year-old Luis Angel Zavaleta-Rios are devastated after police say he was shot and killed on the sidewalk in front of a park just one block from his home.

His father says many friends had just attended his son's 15th birthday party on Friday. And were shocked to learn of his death Thursday morning when they showed up for class at Merced Valley Community School.

About two dozen of his friends and classmates stopped by the park to leave flowers and light candles in Zavaleta's honor. They say the freshman was a good student who was passionate about construction. He also loved the sport of boxing, and was a member of a competitive club downtown.

Minnesota teen brings guns to school in plot to kill parents and students

A 17 year old Waseca, Minnesota teen brought several guns to his school in a plan to kill his parents and then students in his school.  Luckily, his parents turned him into the school authorities. From an article:

John David LaDue had it all figured out. He would kill his mother, father and sister and then create a diversion to keep first responders busy while he went to Waseca Junior/Senior High School to wreak havoc.

There, the 17-year-old planned to set off pressure-cooker bombs full of nails and metal ball bearings in the cafeteria. Students who weren’t maimed or killed would be gunned down in the halls, he told police.

After his arrest Tuesday, the high school junior said he intended to kill “as many students as he could,” before he was killed by the SWAT team, according to charging documents filed in Waseca County District Court.

LaDue was charged Thursday with four counts of attempted first-degree murder, two counts of first-degree damage to property and six counts of possession of a bomb by someone under 18. Police found seven firearms and at least six completed bombs in his bedroom and in the storage unit where he was arrested.

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

5 year old Minnesota boy brings gun to school

A Benson, Minnesota kindergarten student brought a gun to school:

A kindergartner brought a gun to school in Swift County Tuesday morning, and authorities are investigating now to find out how such a thing could have happened.

No one was hurt in the incident at Northside Elementary school and everyone -- from the other students to teachers to law enforcement -- acted quickly to get the gun away from the young child.

Around 8 a.m., students alerted a teacher that the child, who police say is about 5 years old, had brought a weapon into the school building. The teacher quickly confiscated the gun.

Benson Police Chief Ian Hodge said there is no reason to believe that the kindergartner intended to cause any harm, although police are withholding details -- including where the gun came from and whether it was loaded -- while the investigation is ongoing.

"The child has no intent to harm anyone," Hodge said.

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

3 year old Wisconsin toddler shoots self with mother's gun

Unfortunately there has been another toddler shooting. A Milwaukee, Wisconsin 3 year old found a gun in his mother's car and shot himself. From an article:

Three-year-old Kevin Donald shot himself with a gun while playing in his mother's car. Police say the toddler found the gun hidden in the glove compartment. The family tells us the boy is still being treated at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin. Doctors are waiting for the swelling of the head to go down before doing surgery. Now the family is focusing on why a gun was being kept in that car.

Donald's grandmother and aunt both say this could have been prevented. The boy's mother is saying she kept the gun inside the car for protection purposes. Brittany Petersink, the boy''s aunt, told our Sandra Torres, "This is Milwaukee. This is the ghetto...anywhere you go there's someone trying to take something from you."

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

7-year-old unintentionally killed by brother

7-year-old Jaylin Miller, of Ligonier, Indiana was unintentionally shot and killed by his brother on Saturday.  According to reports:

Jaylin and his brother were out in the yard with a firearm, attempting to kill ground moles when the firearm was unintentionally discharged by his brother. Jaylin was struck by a single gun shot and died at the scene.

Police are investigating the incident and have not released any more details at this time.

Utah toddler shot and killed with rifle left in home

The writers of the Kid Shootings blog have been unable to keep up with the number of kid shootings of late. We do refer you to The Gun Report, a regular compiling of actual shooting incidents published several times per week in the New York Times. Unfortunately every one of these reports starts out with the shootings of and by children, some as young as toddlers.

That said, we report today on yet another shooting of a toddler with a loaded gun left around in a home where he could get his hands on it. In Utah, a three year old accidentally shot and killed her two year old brother. From the article:

A 2-year-old Cache County boy died late Friday, hours after his sister shot him.

Authorities said the shooting happened about 6:40 p.m. at a home near 3600 West and 2200 South, in an unincorporated part of the county. The boy’s 3-year-old sister shot him with a .22-caliber rifle that had been left in the living room, the sheriff’s office said.

Cache County sheriff’s Lt. Mike Peterson said the gun had been used earlier in the day by the children’s father, who set it down after returning home. The firearm was unloaded but did have live rounds in the magazine, he said.

"We believe the 3-year-old had to manipulate the action enough to chamber a live round," Peterson said in a news release.

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

2 year old Pennsylvania toddler kills 11 year old sister

A 2 year old toddler has killed his sister with a gun left unsecured in a home. From an article:

Jamara Stevens, 11, was shot and killed in Philadelphia over the weekend by her 2-year-old brother.

Police say the gun was left in the house by their mother’s boyfriend, and on Saturday morning, one of the three Stevens’ children discovered the .357-caliber handgun on top of the refrigerator and brought it upstairs.

The toddler found it, pointed the loaded and cocked gun at Jamara and fired the weapon.

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

6 year old Indiana boy shoots 13 year old sibling with M-4 belonging to his father

In a senseless shooting a 6 year old Indiana boy got hold of his father's M-4 assault rifle and shot and killed his 13 year old brother. From an article:

Felony charges have been filed against a local man in the accidental shooting that killed a Greensburg teen.

Jason L. Forshee, 34, was arrested and charged Friday with neglect of a dependent resulting in death, a Class A felony, and dangerous control of a child, a Class C felony.

Craig A. Roberts, 13, was accidentally shot at his home on North Carver Street on the afternoon of March 11 when a sibling picked up an M4 assault rifle that authorities allege Forshee had left unattended. The sibling pointed the rifle at Craig in the living room of the home. The weapon discharged, and a bullet struck the teen in the chest. Craig died at Decatur County Memorial Hospital that evening.

Court documents state that Forshee told police he was cleaning the weapon and had removed the magazine. He was unaware a bullet was in the chamber. Forshee left the room briefly to talk to Craig's mom, Amy Roberts. While out of the room, a 6-year-old picked up the weapon and accidentally fired it.

Forshee said he heard a “pop” while he was out of the room. Seeing Craig had been shot, Forshee applied pressure to the boy’s wound while the mother called 911.

Forshee told police he could not explain how the bullet was in the chamber. He was out of the room approximately 10 to 15 seconds, he said.

A short time before the shooting, Forshee had shown the rifle to a plumber at the home. The 6-year-old asked to see the weapon, and Forshee handed him the gun, according to court documents.

A child visiting the home shared by Amy Roberts, Jason Forshee, Craig and his two siblings March 11 told police that the 6-year-old had pointed the same rifle at her and another child through a laundry room window that day.

Interviews with a child and Craig's mother indicated Forshee had previously let the 6-year-old hold the weapon.

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

16 year old Tennessee boy shot in head accidentally by friend

Two Tennessee teens were playing "army" when one of the teens shot the other in the head:

A teen told police he accidentally shot his friend while they were “playing army” in his home in Knoxville.

Kenneith Lampkin, 16, of the North Side died at 12:55 a.m. Monday in UPMC Mercy, where he was taken after the shooting that police say occurred at 5:29 p.m. Saturday in a home on Zara Street, a spokesman for the Allegheny County Medical Examiner's Office said.

Joseph Robinson Jr., 16, was arrested on Sunday on charges of aggravated assault, reckless endangerment, tampering with evidence and firearms violations. Robinson, charged as an adult, told police “he accidentally shot the victim while pointing a gun at him and having his finger on the trigger,” the criminal complaint states.

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