General Discussion

kpete

(72,024 posts) Wed Oct 14, 2015, 01:47 PM Oct 2015

WAPO: People are getting shot by TODDLERS on a weekly basis this year

This week a 2-year-old in South Carolina found a gun in the back seat of the car he was riding in and accidentally shot his grandmother, who was sitting in the passenger seat. This type of thing happens from time to time: a little kid finds a gun, fires it, and hurts or kills himself or someone else. These cases rarely bubble up to the national level except when someone, like a parent, ends up dead.

But cases like this happen a lot more frequently than you might think. After spending a few hours sifting through news reports, I've found at least 43 instances this year of somebody being shot by a toddler 3 or younger. In 31 of those 43 cases, a toddler found a gun and shot himself or herself.

https://img.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=&w=1484

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonkblog/wp/2015/10/14/people-are-getting-shot-by-toddlers-on-a-weekly-basis-this-year/?tid=sm_tw

14 replies

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Highlight:

WAPO: People are getting shot by TODDLERS on a weekly basis this year (Original Post) kpete Oct 2015 OP

Yay, guns KG Oct 2015 #1

toodlers enid602 Oct 2015 #2

Aw yes, the Terrible Twos! FSogol Oct 2015 #3

Thread win! KamaAina Oct 2015 #10

Good thing the little tykes were with parents who love guns and not knives or forks...right, NRA? Fred Sanders Oct 2015 #4

All gang activity and mental illness. Nothing to do with the innocent gun. onehandle Oct 2015 #5

how exactly does that bad guy with a gun good guy with a gun work with this analogy? hollysmom Oct 2015 #6

Guns don't kill people, peop... erm, toddlers...? The only thing that works against a bad toddler stevenleser Oct 2015 #7

These toddlers are why we need universal background checks NOW! Orrex Oct 2015 #8

"After sifting through reports . . . at least 43 instances" gratuitous Oct 2015 #9

... You know that's a thing, right? Decoy of Fenris Oct 2015 #14

If only that mattered to Congress. Rex Oct 2015 #11

What can we do about those toddlers? I see so many now Person 2713 Oct 2015 #12

Next NRA press conference. iandhr Oct 2015 #13

KG

(28,753 posts)

1. Yay, guns

Reply to kpete (Original post)

Wed Oct 14, 2015, 01:52 PM

Oct 2015

enid602

(8,658 posts)

2. toodlers

Reply to kpete (Original post)

Wed Oct 14, 2015, 01:54 PM

Oct 2015

Guns don't kill people. Toddlers kill people!

FSogol

(45,532 posts)

3. Aw yes, the Terrible Twos!

Reply to kpete (Original post)

Wed Oct 14, 2015, 01:54 PM

Oct 2015

KamaAina

(78,249 posts)

10. Thread win!

Reply to FSogol (Reply #3)

Wed Oct 14, 2015, 03:47 PM

Oct 2015

Fred Sanders

(23,946 posts)

4. Good thing the little tykes were with parents who love guns and not knives or forks...right, NRA?

Reply to kpete (Original post)

Wed Oct 14, 2015, 02:00 PM

Oct 2015

The fact GUNS are prominently being discussed this pre-election season is a remarkable change in topic from years past.....critical mass on gun control is here, you can feel it and see it and hear it daily.

onehandle

(51,122 posts)

5. All gang activity and mental illness. Nothing to do with the innocent gun.

Reply to kpete (Original post)

Wed Oct 14, 2015, 02:02 PM

Oct 2015

hollysmom

(5,946 posts)

6. how exactly does that bad guy with a gun good guy with a gun work with this analogy?

Reply to kpete (Original post)

Wed Oct 14, 2015, 02:10 PM

Oct 2015

stevenleser

(32,886 posts)

7. Guns don't kill people, peop... erm, toddlers...? The only thing that works against a bad toddler

Reply to kpete (Original post)

Wed Oct 14, 2015, 02:14 PM

Oct 2015

with a gun is a good toddler with a gun!

Orrex

(63,225 posts)

8. These toddlers are why we need universal background checks NOW!

Reply to kpete (Original post)

Wed Oct 14, 2015, 02:16 PM

Oct 2015

gratuitous

(82,849 posts)

9. "After sifting through reports . . . at least 43 instances"

Reply to kpete (Original post)

Wed Oct 14, 2015, 03:43 PM

Oct 2015

Wouldn't it be nice if, instead of gathering information from numerous sources, there was one national clearinghouse of data, like the CDC, that compiled these statistics? Then everyone could have this information right at their fingertips, we could get a clearer picture of responsible vs. irresponsible gun ownership, and maybe take action to reduce the amount of gun-inflicted carnage in our nation's homes, schools, and streets?

I wonder why we don't do that? It seems to me that responsible gun owners would be all in favor of it. You know, to distinguish themselves from the irresponsible gun owners (if such a creature even exists).

Decoy of Fenris

(1,954 posts)

14. ... You know that's a thing, right?

Reply to gratuitous (Reply #9)

Wed Oct 14, 2015, 04:59 PM

Oct 2015

http://www.gunviolencearchive.org/

The only thing wrong with it is that it's a mite dishonest with the numbers. It has a tendency to double-count to add up to the total "Incidents" number. Other than that, it's fairly accurate of all reported incidents related to firearms. It also keeps track of reported, verified "Defensive Gun Uses". This has been up for a while, though. I'm surprised you never knew about it.