Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
A Child Dies From A Gun Accident Every Other Day
[Bryson Mees-Hernandez's death] could be blamed on many factors, from his grandmother鈥檚 negligence to the failure of government and industry to find ways to prevent his death and so many others. The Associated Press and the USA TODAY Network set out to determine just how many others there have been. The findings: During the first six months of this year, minors died from accidental shootings 鈥� at their own hands, or at the hands of other children or adults 鈥� at a pace of one every other day, far more than limited federal statistics indicate. (Foley, Fenn and Penzenstadler, 10/14)
It's the kind of information you might expect from long-range government research: On average, one American child or teenager is killed or injured every day in an聽accidental聽shooting. The most common victims are ages 3 or 16. And the聽shootings聽happen most frequently in their own homes.Yet for the most part, such government research doesn't exist. (Paine, 10/14)
In Arizona, 19聽children under聽18 were聽involved in聽accidental shootings from Jan. 1, 2014, to June 30, 2016, according to an analysis by the Associated Press and the聽USA TODAY Network. Those shootings聽resulted in the deaths of three children and one adult. Another 14 children and one聽adult were injured.Nationally, at least 1,020 children under age聽18 have been involved in accidental shootings during that time, according to the analysis. That translates to at least eight shootings by or involving a minor each week. (Jeong ,10/14)