Kids Pulling the Trigger
Guns
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.
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.