THIS INCIDENT MARKS THE 26TH ADULT-INVOLVED UNINTENTIONAL SHOOTING THIS YEAR. THERE WERE 26 INCIDENTS IN ALL OF 2015

NASHVILLE - An 18-year-old recent graduate of East Literature High School who was headed to Alabama State University on a full academic scholarship died Sunday after he was unintentionally shot at a friend’s home. The two had been handling a gun they did not think was loaded.

“Another young life ended far too soon in another preventable tragedy,” said Beth Joslin Roth, policy director for The Safe Tennessee Project. “This young man had his entire life in front of him. He was a talented track athlete, headed to college this fall on a full academic scholarship. He had many friends and a loving family. His life was just beginning, and in an instant of carelessness with a loaded gun, it’s all over. Our thoughts are with his parents. It’s heartbreaking.”

This incident marks the 26th unintentional-shooting involving an adult so far in 2016, and the fifth fatality. At this time in 2015, there had been nine unintentional shootings involving an adult, and no fatalities.

In all of 2015, there were 26 total unintentional shootings involving adults, four of which were fatal.

“Unintentional shootings continue to plague our state,” Roth said. “Of course, we are aware of the problem we have with children gaining access to loaded guns, but the incidents with adults unintentionally shooting themselves or someone else are truly alarming in their frequency and lethality. We’ve seen nearly triple the number of incidents and five times the number of fatalities from this time last year. Every incident is different but they all have one thing in common: carelessness with loaded guns.”

The Safe Tennessee Project tracks all media report of unintentional shootings in Tennessee. They are logged on the Unintentional Shooting 2016 Tracker. Earlier this month, Safe Tennessee also launched a fully searchable database of unintentional shootings going back to 2015 that tracks incidents by type, disposition, age, location, and more.

TENNESSEE UNINTENTIONAL SHOOTINGS BY THE NUMBERS:

2016 UNINTENTIONAL SHOOTINGS

Unintentional shootings involving children: 15
Unintentional shootings involving children- deaths: 3
Unintentional shootings involving children- injuries: 12

Unintentional shootings involving adults: 26
Unintentional shootings involving adults- deaths: 5
Unintentional shootings involving adults- injuries: 21
Unintentional shootings involving adults with no injuries: 0

Total accidental shooting incidents to date: 41

ALL 2015 UNINTENTIONAL SHOOTINGS

Total Unintentional shootings involving children: 25
Unintentional shootings involving children- fatalities: 9
*Intentional (fatal) shooting of a child by a child with an unsecured gun: 1
Unintentional shootings involving children- injuries: 15

Unintentional shootings involving adults: 26
Unintentional shootings involving adults- fatalities: 4
Unintentional shootings involving adults- injuries: 18
Unintentional shootings involving adults with no injury: 4

Total accidental shooting incidents in 2015: 51

UNINTENTIONAL SHOOTINGS AS OF MAY 26 2015

Unintentional shootings involving children: 9
Unintentional shootings involving children- deaths: 4
Unintentional shootings involving children- injuries: 5

Unintentional shootings involving adults: 9
Unintentional shootings involving adults- deaths: 0
Unintentional shootings involving adults- injuries: 5
Unintentional shootings involving adults with no injuries: 4