In what is unbelievably the 4th incident involving a toddler shooting himself in Clarksville, Tennessee in recent months, a city with only 130,000 people, a 1-year-old shot himself with a gun that was left on a coffee table last week.
Luckily, he didn't shoot himself in the head or chest, but only in his hand. His mother, who has a gun carry permit, had gone in another room when she heard the gun go off.
Other recent toddler shootings in Clarksville include:
- a 3-year-old who was in critical condition after he shot himself with a gun left unattended on a couch by his mother
- a 3-year-old who found a gun and was playing with it on a couch when he shot himself in the foot
And in a related incident, a 6-year-old in Clarksville fired a .45-caliber pistol that he had found on a TV tray in the living room, but fortunately he didn't hit anyone.
Of course, these types of shootings don't just happen in Clarksville. Just this week, shootings happened in:
- Uniontown, Pennsylvania - a 12-year-old was shot by his 19-year-old brother as he took his gun out of his pocket, hitting him in the hand and abdomen.
- Pilot Station, Alaska - a 9-year-old died after he was shot in the chest by another 9-year-old with a high-powered pellet rifle.
- Stoughton, Massachusettes - a 17-year-old died after he was unintentionally shot in the chest by his 21-year-old brother
- Ankeny, Iowa - a 13-year-old who was shot in the head while visiting friends.
These gun and shooting accidents, all tragedies, highlight the importance of learning about gun safety and discussing gun safety with your pediatrician.
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