In response to yesterday’s reported shooting in Elmo, Missouri, where a nine-month-old baby was shot and killed by his five-year-old brother after he found a loaded gun in his grandfather’s house, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America released the following statement from founder Shannon Watts:
“We offer our deepest sympathies to the family of the children affected by the gun tragedy on Monday in Elmo, Missouri. Headlines about children shooting other children are written far too often in America. To be clear, these deaths are preventable. When one child shoots another it is always due to an adult gun owner’s negligence, and that adult should be held accountable. With rights come responsibilities, and when it comes to kids and guns, the onus should always be on adults to be the responsible party. Gun owners and non-gun owners alike should view this heartbreaking unintentional shooting as one more reason for pushing for stronger child access laws, practicing safe storage of firearms, and talking to friends and family about gun safety.”
An analysis of child access gun deaths by Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, Innocents Lost: A Year of Unintentional Child Gun Deaths, found that:
- Nearly two are children killed in unintentional shootings each week, 61 percent higher than federal data reflect.
- About two-thirds of these unintended deaths — 65 percent — took place in a home or vehicle that belonged to the victim’s family, most often with guns that were legally owned but not secured.
- More than two-thirds of these tragedies could be avoided if gun owners stored their guns responsibly and prevented children from accessing them.
- More than two million American children live in homes with unsecured guns—1.7 million of those are loaded and unlocked.
- Toddlers age 2-4 have the highest risk of unintentionally shooting themselves.
About Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America
Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America is a grassroots movement of American mothers fighting for public safety measures that respect the Second Amendment and protect people from gun violence. Moms Demand Action campaigns for new and stronger solutions to lax gun laws and loopholes that jeopardize the safety of our children and families. Since its inception after the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School, Moms Demand Action has established a chapter in every state of the country and along with Mayors Against Illegal Guns is part of Everytown for Gun Safety, the largest gun violence prevention organization in the country with more than 2.5 million members and more than 40,000 donors. For more information or to get involved visit www.momsdemandaction.org. Follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MomsDemandAction or on Twitter at @MomsDemand