Connecticut SAFE KIDS

UNINTENTIONAL FIREARM INJURIES & DEATHS FACT SHEET

Unintentional shootings account for more than 20% of all firearm-related fatalities among children ages 14 and under and have become more common as the availability of firearms has increased. Americans possess more than 223 million firearms, including 77 million handguns. Nearly half of all homes in the U.S. have some type of firearm and one in four homes have a handgun.

Exposure to guns and access to a loaded firearm increases the risk of unintentional firearm-related death and injury to children. Unrealistic perceptions of children’s capabilities and behavioral tendencies with regard to guns are common, including misunderstanding a child’s ability to gain access to and fire a gun; distinguish between real and toy guns; make good judgments about handling a gun and consistently follow rules about gun safety.

National Facts

Deaths and Injuries

  • In 2002, 60 children ages 14 and under died from unintentional firearm-related injuries. Children ages 10 to 14 accounted for 57% of these deaths.
  • In 2002, nearly 800 children ages 14 and under were treated in hospital emergency rooms for unintentional firearm-related injuries. Approximately 38% of these injuries are severe enough to require hospitalization.
  • Every day, 8 children aged 19 and under are killed with guns.
  • On a daily basis, 100,000 students carry guns to school, 160,000 miss class due to fear of physical harm, and 40 are injured or killed by firearms.
  • A gun in the home is 43 times more likely to kill a family member or friend than to be used in self-defense.
  • The unintentional firearm injury death rate among children ages 14 and under in the U.S. is nine times higher than in 25 other industrialized countries combined.
  • In 2002, nearly 8,500 children ages 14 and under were treated in emergency rooms for unintentional non-powder gun-related injuries.

When and Where?

  • Nearly all childhood unintentional shooting deaths occur in our around the home. 50% occur in the home of the victim and nearly 40% occur in the home of a friend or relative.
  • Most childhood unintentional shooting deaths involve guns that have been kept loaded and accessible to children. It is estimated that 3.3 million children in the U.S. live in households with firearms that are always or sometimes kept loaded and unlocked.
  • One-third to one-half of all firearm owners keep firearms loaded and ready for use at least some of the time. Nearly 15% of firearm owners with children in their home currently keep firearms both loaded and unlocked.
  • Most unintentional firearm-related deaths among children occur when children play with loaded guns.
  • Unintentional shootings among children most often occur when children are supervised and out of school, and increase during the summer months (June to August) and the holiday season (November to December).
  • More than 40% of unintentional shootings occur in the afternoon hours between noon and 5 p.m.
  • More than 70% of unintentional firearm shootings involve handguns. When long guns (shotguns and rifles) are responsible for unintentional shootings, they most often occur in non-urban areas.
  • Rural areas have higher rates of firearm ownership and unintentional firearm-related injuries than urban and suburban areas. Shootings in rural areas are more likely to occur outdoors and with a shotgun or rifle, as opposed to indoors and with a handgun in urban areas.

Who is at Risk?

  • Firearm ownership in the home is associated with an increased risk of unintentional firearm fatalities among children.
  • Male children are far more likely to die from unintentional firearm-related injuries than females. Of those children ages 14 and under who are killed from an unintentional shooting, nearly 80% are male.
  • African-American children, especially males ages 10 to 14, have higher death rates from unintentional shootings than Caucasian children.
  • Children living in the South are three times more likely to die from unintentional firearm-related injuries than those living in the Northeast.
  • Children living in rural areas have higher death rates from unintentional firearm-related injury.
  • Nearly two-thirds of parents with school-age children who keep a gun in the home believe that the firearm is safe from their children. However, one study found that when a gun was in the home, 75-80% of first aid second graders knew where the gun was kept.
  • Generally, before age 8, few children can reliably distinguish between real and toy guns or fully understand the consequences of their actions.
  • Children as young as age 3 are strong enough to pull the trigger of many of the handguns available in the U.S.

Prevention

Prevention Effectiveness

  • Declines in child firearm- and BB/pellet gun-related injury rates during the 1990s coincided with increased prevention efforts, including legislation and education, aimed at reducing unsupervised access to guns by children.
  • Two safety devices, trigger locks and load indicators, could prevent more than 30% of all unintentional firearm fatalities.
  • Product design modifications can prevent unintentional firearm death and injury. Every unintentional shooting in which a child age 5 and under shot and killed himself or another could have been prevented by a safety device.

Firearm Laws and Regulations

  • Firearms are unregulated consumer products. There is no government agency that regulates the design of handguns or safety. In addition, most gun laws in the U.S. target gun users, as opposed to firearm manufacturers.
  • Currently, 18 states have enacted Child Access Prevention (CAP) laws, which may hold adults criminally liable for failure to either store loaded firearms in a place inaccessible to children or use a safety device to lock the gun.
  • State safe-storage laws intended to prevent child access to guns have reduced unintentional firearm-related deaths among children ages 14 and under by an average of 23 percent.
  • In October 1997, Massachusetts became the first state to issue consumer product safety regulations for guns by establishing safety standards for all handguns made or sold in the state. California and New York have passed similar regulations.
  • A national gun policy survey found that 68 percent of Americans endorse government regulation of the safety design of guns and 88 percent support laws requiring all new handguns to be childproofed.

Health Care Costs and Savings

  • The total annual cost of unintentional firearm-related deaths and injuries among children ages 14 and under is more than $1.2 billion. Children ages 5 to 14 account for more than $1 billion, or nearly 83% of these costs.
  • Among children ages 14 and under, unintentional firearm injuries account for nearly half of the total cost of all firearm injuries, which include homicide, suicide and unintentional firearm injuries.
  • Hospital treatment for a firearm-related injury averages between $7,000 and $15,000 per case.

Prevention Tips

  • Children should not have access to firearms. A gun in the home can be a danger to children. Parents should seriously weigh the risks of keeping a gun in the home.
  • Gun owners should always store firearms (including BB or pellet guns) unloaded and locked up, out of reach of children. Ammunition should be locked in a separate location, also out of reach of children. Quality safety devices such as gun locks lock boxes or gun safes should be used for every gun kept in the home. Keep gun storage keys and lock combinations hidden in a separate location.
  • Parents should talk to children about the dangers of guns, teach children never to touch or play with guns, and teach them to tell an adult if they find a gun.
  • Parents should check with neighbors, friends or relatives — or adults in any other homes where children may visit — to ensure they follow safe storage practices if firearms are in their homes.

 

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