Between 2014 and 2016, research by The Associated Press and USA Today shows that 152 U.S. children under the age of 12 accidentally killed themselves with a gun, or were inadvertently shot and killed by another child.
As the infographic below shows, the states in which the most deaths occurred were Texas, Georgia, Ohio and Michigan - all of which experienced ten or more such cases over the three year period. According to the source, a child aged under 12 dies in these circumstances an average of once per week in the United States.
Most of the time, the initial cause is a loaded, unsecured gun in the home. A 2008 study found that in about one third of all homes with children, there was a firearm present. Roughly one sixth of these weapons were unlocked and loaded.
Kids Pulling the Trigger
Guns
Description
This chart shows the U.S. states in which children killed themselves with a gun or were mistakenly shot by another child from 2014 to 2016.
