The Washington Post (1/1, Ingraham) “Wonkblog” reported that in 2015, “at least 265 children under the age of 18 picked up a firearm and accidentally shot themselves or someone else with it.” This figure was compiled by Everytown for Gun Safety, a gun control advocacy group. Many of the shootings appear to happen when children find “an unsecured gun” in the home. Access to firearms may also result in suicides in young people. A study published 2004 in the Journal of the American Medical Association revealed that child access prevention laws “prevented 333 teen suicides between 1989 and 2001.”
Related Links:
— “At least 265 people were accidentally shot by kids this year,” Christopher Ingraham, Washington Post, December 31, 2015.