Guns Create A Bloody Week for Kids

The column Sunday Shooting Review briefly lists some (but by no means all) of the children age 16 and younger who have been injured or killed by guns during the previous week. The present blog expands this information for the week of Jan. 28 to Feb. 3 by consulting the primary sources reporting these incidents. 

Greenville, S.C. (Associated Press) – “Authorities say the shooting of a 3-year-old boy at a Greenville apartment was accidental . . . deputy coroner Jeff Fowler wouldn’t talk about whether the boy pulled the trigger or the shot to the head was fired by someone else.” 

Cleburne, TX (WFAA.com) – “Cleburne police say a five-year-old girl is in stable condition after being shot in the abdomen on Friday evening . . . the incident appears to be the result of an accident.”

Mission, KS (Associated Press) – “Police in a northeast Kansas town say a 3-year old boy shot and wounded himself with a handgun his father had left unattended.  .  .While the father’s back was turned, the boy pulled the gun toward himself. The gun discharged, sending a bullet through the child’s forearm, into his abdomen and out of his lower body.” 

Atlanta, GA (Associated Press) – “A 14-year old student was wounded in a shooting at a middle school Thursday, and a suspect was taken into custody.  .  . As a parent, you just think you can send your child to school and you hope they come home OK” 

East Chicago, IL (East Chicago Community. com) – “One person was killed and a 2-year old was injured Saturday when a vehicle was shot at multiple times.  .  . East Chicago Police Chief Mark Becker said a vehicle was ‘riddled with several gunshots’ and the 2-year old was in the backseat of the car the time of the shooting.” 

Chicago, IL (Chicago Sun-Times) – “President Barack Obama and the first lady are praying for the family of Hadiya Pendleton, the 15-year-old girl who attended the president’s inauguration and was  fatally shot Tuesday less than a mile from (her) Kenwood home.”

Dickinson, ND (KQCD-TV) – “A Dickinson toddler was hospitalized in (a) Bismarck hospital after being accidentally shot in the upper thigh.  .  .Police say the child grabbed a loaded hand gun and pulled the trigger.”

Phoenix. AZ (azfamily.com) – “Police are looking for a suspect who shot a man and a teen in central Phoenix Saturday morning.  .  .Police said two Hispanic males, ages 22 and 16 were shot near Seventh Street and Indian School Road at about 10:45 a.m.” 

Williamston, NC (News Channel 12) – “Police are looking for whoever shot a mother and her one-year-old son Tuesday night in Williamston .  .  .’I just don’t know what this little town is coming to,’ Goddard said.” 

Fresno, CA (KFSN) – “An 11-year old is recovering after he was shot at a Southwest Fresno home in the area of Elm and North.  .  . When the band members first heard the shooting, they ignored it. Five minutes later they heard another shot and that’s when the child was hit in the leg.” 

Oakland, CA (Associated Press) – “Oakland police say an eight-year-old girl is hospitalized after she was hit by gun fire in what’s believed to be a gang-related drive-by shooting,”

Savannah, GA  (Savannah Morning News) – “Savannah-Chatham police arrested a 26-year-old Garden City man after his daughter was shot Monday morning at a west Chatham County apartment complex. .  .  .Investigators said the shooting occurred during a domestic dispute.”

Peoria, AZ (Arizona Republic 12 News) – “Peoria police are searching for a man they said shot a teenager in the back in the early morning hours on Saturday .  .  . The teen attempted to flee from the suspect by running out the back door into the backyard. When the victim attempted to climb over a wall, police said he was shot in the back.” 

Batesville, MS (Associated Press) – “Panola County authorities say an errant shot from a hunter struck a Panola County school bus, grazing at least one student in the back.”

Remember these shootings of children occurred in the course of just one week, and by no means include all such shootings that took place during that time. The author of Sunday Shooting Review  also notes, “In the interest of time, I’ve stopped collecting stories of victims over the age of 16; the list would be a little over twice as long if we went to 18.”

As shown by the preceding summaries, gun deaths stem from all sorts of things – carelessness of gun owners, stray shots intended for other people, domestic disputes, and homicides. 

Slate Magazine (2/7/13) notes that 1619 Americans have been killed by guns since the Newtown tragedy last December. This nation desperately needs new gun safety laws.