Safe Tennessee Project: Number of accidental shootings has already surpassed all of 2015
NASHVILLE, Tenn.--Following the accidental shooting of a 3-year-old Nashville boy on Tuesday, the Safe Tennessee Project says accidental shootings in the state this year is "particularly startling."
In a release from STP, the number of adult-involved accidental shootings by the end of August last year was 14 total. This year, that total is 39 accidental shootings involving adults. According to STP, 23 accidental shootings have involved children in 2016, with seven deaths.
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The sum of these shootings (62), also reflects a sharp rise compared 2015 totals. In all of last year, there was a total of 51 accidental shootings in Tennessee.
Safe Tennessee Project policy director Joslin Roth says "We already knew we had a problem with these types of shootings, and it’s only getting worse.”
Using the Gun Violence Archive and cross-checking with news reports, The Safe Tennessee Project ranks Tennessee 9th in the nation for accidental shootings.
