Indianapolis, Indiana – Tragedy struck when a 2-year-old girl in Indiana accidentally shot herself with a gun found in her home. This heartbreaking incident is just one of the 411 unintentional shootings by children under 18 that occurred last year, according to data from Everytown, an advocacy group for firearm safety.
These statistics reveal that children ages 14 to 17 and those 5 and under are most commonly involved in unintentional shootings. The consequences are often devastating, with victims being siblings, cousins, or friends, leaving multiple families to grapple with grief and regret.
Everytown emphasizes the urgent need for federal and state authorities to take action in tracking and providing public data on such incidents to prevent future tragedies. Sarah Burd-Sharps, senior director of research at Everytown, highlights the preventable nature of these incidents, stressing that a child gaining access to a loaded gun nearly every day is a stark reality that must be addressed.
Instances where children were injured or killed due to unintentional shootings are not isolated incidents. Last year marked the highest number of such tragedies tallied by Everytown since they began tracking in 2015, with some incidents resulting in multiple victims.
Julvonnia McDowell, a grieving mother who lost her son JaJuan to an unintentional shooting, emphasizes the importance of safe firearm storage to prevent further pain and trauma. As a volunteer for Moms Demand Action, the grassroots arm of Everytown, McDowell encourages dialogue surrounding responsible gun ownership.
Efforts like Everytown’s to raise awareness about unintentional shootings are crucial in an era where data on such incidents remains limited and incomplete. While the overall rate of unintentional shooting deaths has decreased since the 1990s, firearms continue to pose a significant risk, particularly to children living in homes with unlocked and loaded firearms.
With the devastating impact of unintentional shootings resonating across communities, the call for better firearm safety measures becomes even more urgent. Through advocacy, education, and responsible gun storage practices, the hope is to prevent further tragedies and protect the lives of children everywhere.