Another Boy Dies in Ohio, America’s Capital of “Accidental” Child Shootings

In this file photo, a young student displays a sign referring to handgun violence during a public rally sponsored by the Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence outside the Kluczynski Federal Building on Oct. 20, 2004, in Chicago. Photo by Tim Boyle/Getty Images

Slate article by Justin Peters


On Saturday, the New York Daily News reported that, since Newtown, at least 40 children 12 and under have died in “accidental” shootings—ones in which the child either shot himself or was shot by another child. Make that 41: On Sunday night a 4-year-old Ohio boy apparently shot and killed himself with an unsecured gun while his 1- and 5-year-old siblings watched. Police report that three handguns were found in the room where Raytwon Briggs was shot. It’s not yet clear who owned the guns, or how they were stored, or whether anyone will be charged in the matter. 

If you read this blog often, you know what’s coming next. All together now: Accidental child shootings are almost never accidents. 

I know I say this every week, and I’m sorry to be repetitive, but what can I do—people keep making the same mistakes. When it comes to firearm safety, negligent gun owners create their own bad luck. It’s my contention that these sorts of shootings often constitute criminal negligence, and that the relevant parents and guardians ought to be prosecuted, if only to send the message that society will not and should not stand for a cavalier approach to gun safety when children are involved.