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This week a 2-year-old in South Carolina found a gun in the back seat of the car he was riding in and accidentally shot his grandmother, who was sitting in the passenger seat. This type of thing happens from time to time: A little kid finds a gun, fires it, and hurts or kills himself or someone else. These cases rarely bubble up to the national level except when someone, like a parent, ends up dead.

But cases like this happen a lot more frequently than you might think. After spending a few hours sifting through news reports, I've found at least 43 instances this year of somebody being shot by a toddler 3 or younger. In 31 of those 43 cases, a toddler found a gun and shot himself or herself.



In August, for instance, a 21-month-old in the St. Louis area found a loaded handgun at his grandmother's house and shot himself in the torso. His mother took him to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Earlier in the year a Michigan 3-year-old found a loaded .40-caliber handgun in a closet while his dad and brother were outside. He shot himself in the head and died before rescue workers arrived.

The stories go on and on like this: Roughly once a week this year, on average, a small child has found a gun, pointed it at himself or someone else, and pulled the trigger. Boys are disproportionately likely to do this: I could find only three cases where a girl under the age of 4 wounded someone with a gun. In 13 of the 43 total incidents, a child's self-inflicted injuries were fatal. In two other cases, another person died after being shot by a toddler: a father in Alabama, and a 1-year-old in Ohio.

In one instance, a 3-year-old managed to wound both of his parents with a single gunshot at an Albuquerque motel.



Shootings by toddlers have happened in 24 states so far this year. Missouri has seen the most, with five separate incidents. Florida has had four. Texas, three. Due to the low number of total cases and the isolated nature of these incidents I'd caution against drawing broad conclusions from the map above. But it is worth noting that the shootings don't necessarily follow broader population trends. California, the most populous state in the nation, hasn't had any. Nobody has been shot by a toddler in New England or the Upper Midwest.

These numbers are probably an undercount. There are likely instances of toddlers shooting people that result in minor injuries and no media coverage. And there are probably many more cases where a little kid inadvertently shoots a gun and doesn't hit anyone, resulting in little more than a scared kid and (hopefully) chastened parents.

Notably, these numbers don't include cases where toddlers are shot, intentionally or otherwise, by older children or adults. Dozens of preschoolers are killed in acts of homicide each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But I haven't included those figures here.

These cases are invariably referred to as "accidents" in media reports. But as Everytown for Gun Safety, a group that advocates for stricter gun laws, argues, many incidents like this are preventable. In a study of accidental shootings by children of all ages (not just toddlers), they estimate that "more than two-thirds of these tragedies could be avoided if gun owners stored their guns responsibly and prevented children from accessing them."

There are policy and technical responses to preventable childhood gun deaths as well. States and localities could require guns to be locked up at home, a policy supported by 67 percent of Americans. Various types of smart gun technology, which prevent anyone other than their owners from firing a given gun, exist as well. But gun lock requirements and smart guns have been vehemently opposed by the National Rifle Association and its allies.

Instead, the NRA continues to promote a response that seeks to solve gun problems with more guns, and aims to broaden the saturation of firearms in nearly every sphere of public and private life, from homes to schools to churches to bars to airports and beyond. In a country with more guns than people, it's only natural that a certain number of small children are going get their hands on an unsecured firearm, with tragic consequences.

CAA Flagship wrote:Hells yeah, Missouri.

Grizalltheway wrote:Conks 'n guns, guns 'n conks.

kalm wrote:

Grizalltheway wrote:Conks 'n guns, guns 'n conks.

I think most toddlers are independent.

The Waffle House crew was busily going about its typical early-morning ritual — smothering and scrambling breakfast, clanking through the dirty dishes — when a robber jolted them out of their routine.

A customer decided he was having none of that and opened fire in the North Charleston eatery, thwarting the holdup Saturday by fatally shooting the suspect.

The young man who tried to rob the restaurant was rushed to Medical University Hospital, but he later died, police spokeswoman Angela Johnson said.

The intervening customer, who has not been identified, had a permit to carry a pistol, authorities said.

Grizalltheway wrote:

kalm wrote:
I think most toddlers are independent.

Right up until some conk comes along and promises them no more naps. Goddamn single issue voters.

Ibanez wrote:

Grizalltheway wrote:
Right up until some conk comes along and promises them no more naps. Goddamn single issue voters.

My toddler tells me that the decriminalization of these pouches is a hot button issue.

kalm wrote:

Grizalltheway wrote:Conks 'n guns, guns 'n conks.

I think most toddlers are independent.

93henfan wrote:

kalm wrote:
I think most toddlers are independent.

They're also unreasonable assholes.

93henfan wrote:

kalm wrote:
I think most toddlers are independent.

They're also unreasonable assholes.

Bronco wrote:

93henfan wrote:[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwEyBItsXkw[/youtube]

AZGrizFan wrote:

93henfan wrote:[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwEyBItsXkw[/youtube]

Fuck that cunt.

93henfan wrote:

AZGrizFan wrote:
Fuck that cunt.

I'm a gun guy and also somebody who enjoys humor. Both are possible.

AZGrizFan wrote:And here's an update to the list I posted earlier in this thread:

Last night in Texas, a HS football player collapsed and died from injuries sustained during the game. He's the (GASP) sixth HS football player to die since September. A rate of ONE PER WEEK!

Perhaps we should also ban HS football?

CAA Flagship wrote:

AZGrizFan wrote:And here's an update to the list I posted earlier in this thread:

Last night in Texas, a HS football player collapsed and died from injuries sustained during the game. He's the (GASP) sixth HS football player to die since September. A rate of ONE PER WEEK!

Perhaps we should also ban HS football?

Don't be silly. This means we should only ban HS football in Texas.