In the U.S., certain groups of children and teens are more likely to die by gunfire than others. Boys accounted for 83 of all gun deaths among children and teens in 2021, while girls accounted for 17. Older children and teens are much more likely than younger kids to be killed in gun-related incidents. In 2021, firearms continued to be the leading cause of death for US children and teens, with a nearly 42 increase in the rate of children killed by guns from 2018 to 2021.
Black children and teens are now dying from firearms at around 4.5 times the rate of their white peers. This disparity is the consequence of structural factors, as firearms contributed to the deaths of more children aged 1-17 years in the U.S. than any other type of injury or illness. Gun deaths among children and teens rose by 29% in a single year, largely because of an increase in homicides. The number of children and teens killed by gunfire in the United States increased 50 between 2019 and 2021, according to a Pew Research Center analysis.
Unintentional injury is a leading cause of death among US children and adolescents aged 0-17 years, and firearms are a leading injury method. Children in the United States are at far greater risk of unintentional gun death than children in other developed countries. Every year, hundreds of children in the US gain access to loaded firearms and unintentionally shoot themselves or someone else. Gun violence is the leading cause of death among children and teens in the U.S., with 12 children dying from gun violence daily. Accidental firearm deaths have shown little variation over the past decade and continue to account for roughly 5 of all child and adolescent gun violence in America.
📹 When it happens to you: Kids and Guns
Do your children know what to do if they find a gun?
📹 Disturbing Details of Georgia School Shooting Suspect’s Parents Revealed
Colt Gray, 14, is accused of murdering two students and two teachers at Apalachee High School in Widner, Georgia. His father …
The biggest concern is why put a gun in a room full of toys? It’s very likely those kids thought it was a toy too, something they were OK to play with. Toy guns are not an evil, many kids have played with them for decades. But they know it’s a toy because its with other toys. This little test should have been used in an area where there are no toys.
I’m pretty sure that if you bring a bunch of adults who never fired a gun, they will make the same mistake as those kids. I went to a gun range less than 5 times and seeing a person knowing nothing about how a gun work is more terrifying than a man who wants to be the runner up against terminators carrying all sorts of guns than a 100 pound man who only talks about how he never shot. The amount of flagging these people do and idiotic actions, like ‘woa I can fire a gun one handed, look at this.’ A month of training can get rid of that ignorance and insure any accidents from happening most of the time.
i live in a country where owning a gun is illegal but in my opinion kids should have try to go fire a gun to realise the danger or the hazard of misusing it or not properly handling it, when they know how dangerous firearms is, they will be more careful and if they have some knowledge they would take the magazine out, pull the slide back 3 times to clear the chamber and put the gun down, im just a teen in a country where gun is illegal, but i know gun safety for some reason lol
Only an irresponsible gun owner would leave a guns around with kids. Responsible gun owners keep them locked up. Guns are not toys. An adult that owns a gun that gets in the hands of a child should lose his rights to own guns and do some jail time. I had a 22 caliber gun at the age of 12 it was always locked in my dad safe and I only could get to it when he was home or when we went to the gun range. I called the gun mine but I never had access to it when my parents were not home. Ignorance about guns kills people, not the gun. Teaching children the for safety rules would be beneficial If there is a gun in your house, Or if your kids visit friends and their parents have guns in their house. 1-Treat every weapon as if it’s loaded. 2-Never point a weapon at anything you don’t intend to shoot. 3-Keep the weapon on safe until you intend to shoot. 4- Keep your finger straight and off the trigger until you intend to fire. Nobody can accidentally get shot if you follow these 4 rules. Guns don’t kill people, ignorance does. Education is the key to peace. And as we believed during the cold war, Peace through ultimate firepower.
A little mock dialogue…. Kid no. 1: Oh my Lordy! Look what I found, I want to touch it— Kid no. 2 (pushing Kid no .1 back): DON’T TOUCH IT! IT IS A GUN! AND DON’T ASSUME IT IS EMPTY, AND IF YOU TOUCH OR MOVE IT, IT CAN STILL GO “BANG!” AND YOU OR ME WILL GET HURT OR DIE! Kid no. 1: Really? Kid no. 2: I am not kidding! THIS GUN IS NOT A TOY! JUST STAY WELL WELL AWAY!
When you teach your children the importance of firearm safety they are better equipped to prevent accidental shootings. The reason why those kids are picking up those guns and are playing with them is because their parents haven’t taught them about firearm safety so they are not educated in that area. All of my children were taught to treat every gun as if it is loaded and can kill, even if it is a toy gun and they know to keep their finger off of the trigger and to never point it at anyone. The best way to teach chidren is to expose them to the danger and educate them about it, not to shield it from them because once they are exposed, if not taught, something bad will happen.
It’s not really about it being in a toy box or whatever. If you leave a gun in a toy box you don’t deserve to have kids or a gun. The idea is leaving it on a table or counter, in a drawer, or anywhere an infant could reach it. People do accidentally leave guns laying out on counters after hunting or going to the range or whatever, and some people also think that they need a gun hidden in every corner of their house for home defense, and end up leaving them unlocked in the reach of their kids. You do hear about kids accidentally blowing their brains out or killing their friends pretty often unfortunately.
My dad thought me to shoot guns when I turned 7 FUCKING SEVEN. Parents just have to teach them how to use guns safely if you load a gun and put one in the chamber and turn off the safety and put it down it is not dangerous but when you pick it up it is dangerous. The gun is not dangerous the person is
This is why you take your kids shooting or at least educate them on how they work. I already knew how to operate a gun before I first shot one because of CoD. My dad accidentally left his gun out when I was little. I saw it, knew what it was, and left it alone. If you own a gun, it is your responsibility to teach your kids how they work and how dangerous they are.
Teach your children! They say that ignorance is bliss, but there is no excuse for not teaching your kids about guns! It is important! Guns keep the family (and our nation) safe and they are loads of fun to shoot! But, they can also be potentially deadly in a dummy’s hands. To paraphrase the song… “Mama… don’t let your babies grow up to be dummies”! Take the fam to the range or to a friend/family member’s farm to shoot and learn. Show them just how loud and dangerous guns can be in untrained hands. Country kids KNOW! “Let them see. It isn’t like on TV”! “Hands off… unless under an adult’s supervision”.
This is bs, 6 kids in a tiny room with a gun yeah they will play with it. You dont tell them what guns do, they play with it. I found a gun when I was a kid and was like oh hell nah and left the room quick before I got my butt whooped for finding the gun. And yeah I was like thatd be so cool to shoot, but knew it was illegal to do so, also knew it could malfunction, and knew ricochets exist.. my grandparents let me shoot a pellet revolver at a target when I was a kid, showed me how to be safe like it was a real gun, not only was I a natural, but I never forgot how to be safe.. so seeing a giant 45 revolver, I didn’t hesitate to leave it alone. After perusal my grandpa shoot his Makarov, I knew real guns were a whole different level of crazy. Pellet guns have c02 tanks that scare me.. but a bullet was way scarier to me. Jus be a good parent and stop sheltering kids. When I seen a gun used on a person in a movie as a kid, there was no gore really.. like James bond.. they just fall.. but in my neighborhood it wasn’t long before I seen the real thing up close.. once I seen the damage one round can do, I stayed away from that life best I could.. cause mfs are crazy.. as an adult I keep a gun to protect family and myself.. but even then I knock on wood and pray I don’t have to use it every time I leave the house.. literally something I do.. jus educate kids on gore.. a little not too much.. its hard as a parent.. but as they age they’ll appreciate knowing one fight can lead to being shot stabbed or beat to death with knuckles or even a bic lighter.
Dude this is so terrible can you imagine what would happen if you put their favorite toys in the middle of the road😂😂😂😂 they don’t know any better because their parents haven’t taught them what if a stranger has candy? Did you teach them to say no seriously what’s the difference you either did your job as a parent or you didn’t. No gun ever try to put your kid into a van but if you’re a good enough parent you would think that your kid is going to end up in a van that has a human being convincing your kid to get in. Teaching your kid about staying away from Firearms if you’re not willing to teach them about them is no different than telling them not to put their hand on the stove if you can’t at least do that you shouldn’t have kids❤
This was the lamest and dumbest experiment I’ve ever seen. When I was younger, my great grandfather had 7+ guns locked up in a closet in which I know where the key was. I knew not to attempt to do anything with a firearm since I was like 2 or 3. The main part of this is that instead of ranting with these trashy scenarios, maybe try telling your kids straight up aboutt guns by stating to them that if the pull/squeeze that trigger, bad things that you won’t like will happen, and you will get hurt.
Everyone in this childs life failed him. Stories of how he was raised are heartbreaking. His mother throwing him and his siblings out of the house late at night on several occasions and locking the door. There were times there was no food in the house. MULTIPLE visits by police and DHS but they never intervened. The SYSTEM left these kids in the care of a drug addict and a violent home. The FBI also failed him last year. Does he need to face consequences for his actions? Most definitely! But my heart hurts for all involved. This could have been prevented if everyone in this childs life that knew what was going on would have done something. We’ve got to stop perusal from the sidelines and become involved with families and/or youth that we know are struggling.
This school shooting was so preventable if his parents cared enough. They literally investigated him last year and the parents continued to encourage his behavior or not take it seriously. As long as he was with those people, this was inevitable, it’s really upsetting when the parents are practically fully aware and have all the warning signs and do nothing. Most parents don’t have that luxury and are unaware of what their children are thinking about, but these parents KNEW for sure what their kid was thinking about doing.
The school didn’t know. Don’t blame that school!!! Colt was a NEW student at Apalachee. He hadn’t been at that school long. It was Jackson County, where he transferred from, that failed to notify Apalachee High School in Barrow County of Colt having been a threat. Also there was another student with a very similar name to Colt. And when the mother of Colt alerted the school, there was confusion and they checked the wrong student’s bag and found nothing. Then minutes later, the shooting happened. I live near this community and know people affiliated with that school system. A relative of mine is a resource officer in that school district. The service for the coach that was killed was held at the high school my son just graduated from. The coach’s wife is a teacher and tennis coach there.
In the school district where I work in Arkansas, there was a kid last year that had been expelled from multiple schools. He had been suspended from our school for ten days for bad behavior. He was telling his friends when he came back he was going to k*ll kids and teachers. Not only did the school allow the kid to come back to school after the ten days, they did not inform parents of the children that attended that school of the danger. This is a huge problem that happens every day. If you have a kid in public schools in the US, you have no idea how much danger your kids are in and how much the school districts choose to ignore and sweep under the rug.
I know a kid in TN 8th grade 2023 school year that joked and his bully felt threatened. Perfect grades, record, home life, star in the Christmas play, volunteer, etc and he got arrested and sent to alternative school for 45 days. He had to be cleared by several health professionals to return to his school. Court appearances. Whole gambit. Not just talk to the cops. We were very scared because we knew they had to take it seriously until they proved he was just doing article game talk in class.
The dad is probably a savage too. He took the kid hunting and smeared the deer’s blood on Colt’s face. I don’t think hunting defenseless animals for sport is a sane activity. Colt became obsessed with violence, and then his daddy bought him a gun and turned him loose on that school. So sad and so infuriating. 😢
I read an article where the mother is being critical of the school’s response. She put zero ownership on her son, her husband, or herself. Why didn’t she contact the police? Why didn’t she report that her son had access to an AR-15 when he got it for Christmas? He has access to that high powered rifle for over 8 months. The school year had just began a few weeks ago so I wouldn’t be surprised if he had been planning throughout the summer. His parents should be held legally and financially accountable. Instead of buying him a gun an assault weapon his father should have paid for therapy!
We use metal detectors in police stations where they are armed and trained. You must resign to the Fact that metal detectors are needed in every last school. This is not a deal to worrying about the presence of detectors. There’s been officers in schools for decades, so stop making reasons for them not to be used.
A theory that comes to my mind is that his dad learned he was being bullied and tried to “toughen him up” with the gun and hunting trips. He gives off “not my kid, my kid wouldn’t do that (murder people)” AND “not my kid, my kid doesn’t need that (help)” vibes. 🙁 I hope it’s just my bias and not actually what happened
Okay but what if the “I’m sorry” text was read by the mother as if he was going to hurt himself, not others? Did she even have custody? I think I read that she was incarcerated; how much more than a phone call could she do if thats the case? She clearly was not a great mother and obviously contributed to this kids poor mental health, but theres just so much speculation here. The father was charged immediately. I have to think if the police/prosecutor thought they could make charges for her stick, they would have charged her as well.
Me my wife and my children are avid hunters but please believe we know the responsibility of owning firearms and regardless of if we think our children would do this or not,every step all the way down to securing these weapons is a lesson for these kids.Leaving them accessible is dangerous in many ways but it’s also not setting the standard.
What is WRONG with kids nowadays?? We had firearms IN SCHOOL when I was a kid! We had school rifle teams and even an indoor range under the gymnasium! We had rifles and shotguns in the rifle racks in our trucks. We had more access and LESS restrictions of firearms but NO school shootings! We had FIST fights and wasn’t afraid of getting our butts whooped! You were considered a coward and a p*ssy if you pulled a weapon! We were taught to handle and deal with bullies and fighting. SOMETHING has happened to our kids that we need to figure out… and it’s NOT more “gun laws”! There’s already over 40k gun laws on the books and it’s only gotten worse.
It was his first or second day of school. I think he just wanted an excuse to kill. Now we have two adults and two teenagers murdered and other nine with injuries, physical/mental issues perhaps, because of this crime. Both parents should be charged for neglect and abuse. No child or school employee should have to worry about mentally dangerous students in their school or place of employment. Change laws regarding mentally ill students, might help deter this type of atrocities.
Just think about this for a second. The kid lives in misery at home (mom removed for attacking the dad/domestic violence) miserable at school (bullied) His dad praises and acknowledges his hunting/shooting a deer thing as though it somehow made him a man or some weird initiation, then buys his a gun for Christmas. Even a 5 year old could finish the story.
Every time I hear more regarding this story the sadder it gets! He should have been set up for psychiatric evaluation after the first report. And, what were they thinking…the cops should have be called the second the mom called. I’m just at a loss that they did not go in overdrive…this was a huge failure!
It is hard to comprehend how a 14 year old could do something so horrific. This was truly a tragedy. The father should receive an equal if not longer sentence, having purchased a rifle for an emotionally unstable child. The mother tried calling the school 30 minutes before the shooting occurred, yet the media has brutalized her as a monster bc she has had addiction issues. It’s all so tragic. 😢
A report on a school shooting should not be a article with a money grab ad deal, especially one for a lawyer stating how a school shooting is a case where you definitely need a lawyer. Those victims weren’t even cold before the internet “news” were rubbing their hands together, envisioning how many money-making articles they would get out of this.
Chaotic home life, his kid has made threats online to shoot up the school & they get questioned by police. Naturally he gives his kid an automatic weapon for Christmas. In what world does this “father” live in? How does someone have so little thought for their child’s wellbeing, not to mention anyone else’ child? Maybe some other parents will now manage to think twice before passing out weapons for the holidays.
The father said if his son had sent the threats to the school the guns would be gone from their house!!! Obviously the father was lying about the guns, and when he describes the kids face having deer blood and that it was the greatest day!!! I think the parents should be held responsible for their child’s actions!!! You do not buy your 14 year old an automatic weapon or any weapon at all!!! Dad should have spent that money on therapy for the family!!! And the mother was horrible too!!!
the way his dad is cowering… almost sobbing when he speaks. tells you the story of an abuser, he is an abuser, he is a coward to which this kid seeked approval from… BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY, the fact that he is illiterate. (IT SHOWS) and opinionated…the wreckless gun culture of them… all pointed to this result, this is what government should be prosecuting, not the instruments but the people behind it… yet another school shooting… yet another set of educated criminal family who is entitled to their right inspite they making threats, being violent and using drugs… there is sooooooo much that would never met the eye… government and justice systems should see waaaay beyond the fact that now, thanks to uneducated and entitled parents, another teenager will live and die in jail… which also means, yet another bourdain to the taxpayers of United States Of America… im deeply sorry and sobbing for the people killed and injured, but im crying for the society itself because in here, every single one of us loses a little something… each time this happens
Psssstttt, parents, listen up….. our children hate us. I don’t know why. But it seems to be true. Are you seriously going to give your child control of YOUR freedom by providing them a gun, and they commit crimes that attach you to them? Do you trust them? Do ya? Do ya, really? Like Jail time really? Think.
Very similar to the story line of the Oxford High shooting. A 14 year old who was having trouble in school and needed help for his mental health. The parent was a concealed carrier and decided to buy the teen a gun instead of thinking more about the way life has been for the teen in the recent years. The parent’s bad decision without giving it more thought resulted in the troubled teen using that gun for a school shooting.
What’s crazy is the comments for this school shooter is all criticism for his parents and how they raised him! However if this was a school shooter of color the comments would rain differently!!! Smh, a ton of kids are failed by their parents and there’s so many children who grew up in foster care and group homes, and still so many reclaim their lives and are so successful that they’re unrecognizable!!! Stop making excuses and sugar coating facts, this was apart of their agenda!!! 🙄
The schools don’t handle any type of bullying. They are so afraid of offending someone that nothing gets done. My Son was bullied by students and teachers. My nephews step son was bullied and they did nothing. Oh wait they sent the one being bullied home. Children aren’t taught social skills. It’s terrible 😡what do people expect.
Hi. With all due respect. The school did their due diligence & involved the parents. Parents useless at times. As a mandatory reporter in my profession, educators are also held to the same. However, through 30+ yrs experience our Nation’s Children’s Mental Illness is so broken,ill funded & staffed. Resulting in our kids suffering yet even more! Until we invest in Pediatric Mental Health, Educators, MSW & public education. There will never be an end to our kids’ suffering
Want some easy tips? Don’t have kids if you don’t have a strong marriage, not just emotionally but morally. When you do have kids, don’t let screens raise them for you. Help your kid build confidence, jiu jitsu is a fantastic way (not the gyms that emphasize ripping heads off, the ones that emphasize technique, respect and discipline). Have more positive interactions with your kid than negative. Don’t refrain from implementing consequences for your kids wrongdoings, but make them make sense. Don’t take the belt to them cause they spilled some milk, make them clean up their mess so they learn true responsibility. I know the economy sucks these days and people have to work harder to survive it, but that means you have to work harder at being a parent when you aren’t at your job. Some of us invest more effort and time into getting our next promotion than we do ensuring our child is being raised right…it’s not rocket science, no matter how much people want to cloud the issue
I grew up in a single parent, dysfunctional molested violent home. Sometimes didn’t have a place to stay living with someone else and they always want to use that as an excuse for these kids to do what they do. And I hate hearing about family members that say oh yeah, we knew why didn’t you step up to help your nephew or your grandson?
I live in Jackson County Ga. Bullying wasn’t the cause at Appalachee. He went to Jefferson City schools before he moved to Appalachee and this was only his 2nd day attending Appalachee. Hence why Jackson county Sherrifs called about the school shooting potential. Jefferson is in Jackson county Appalachee high school is in barrow county. The county’s are right next to each and the schools are roughly 25 minutes apart. Really mind blowing what his reasons were but it wasn’t because of Bully’s at Appalachee.
he’s literally named after a firearm. having a right to defend yourself is one thing, but the gun culture in this country is so rampantly out of control that there was nowhere else to go BUT to end up with 300-400 school shootings a year. i hate that i hold my breath from the time i drop my 2nd grader off at school to the time i walk him home. there was a time when we thought, “It only happens in high schools, at least the littles are safe,” but we can’t even count on that anymore. honestly, i hate it here, and once we have enough saved we’re gone.
Wait so a school counselor told the mother that morning her son talked about a school shooting and then he to the mother he was sorry. The school knew and NO one did anything. The mother knew she is to blame to. The mother’s family blaming the dad it’s both parents. That kid choose to deal with his problems by killing other people with an AR-15 style gun his father gave him. So many dropped the ball including the parents, the school to the police. If he was saying these things both the school and parents why was he even in school.
The thing is…people don’t take those with mental health issues seriously. Most of the time, it’s all talk and just a reach for help. When no one listens or helps… they feel no one cares and so why should they? So they go out and do something TO get help to MAKE people listen, whether its harming themself or someone else. Yes this is extremely drastic, but so many are suffering in silence and feel so alone in their thoughts. It’s sad, and scary because you just never know when it is going to happen again. Mental illness IS a pandemic, and it is such a huge problem that there aren’t enough resources or people just can’t afford to reach out, to come up with a cure. Things are only going to get worse. I feel like this is still only the beginning 🙁
14 is too young to give a child constructive control over a firearm. Even if you gifted them a gun and said it was “theirs”, as a parent you obviously still wouldn’t let them keep it in their room with ammo in it and all that. No child should be allowed unfettered access to a firearm unless they are on a hunting trip or at the shooting range. Again, just basic common sense that seems to be lost on these parents.
Why weren’t the police called from the get go if the mother thought her own son was a danger to others ???? Why would the father ever gift a gun to his son when he had mental issues??? Who does this ?? This is so sad !! Both parents should be charged for knowing what their son was capable of!! So very sad😮😢
So there are no family members on the father’s side to comment? The only family members that we’ve heard from are from mom’s family and how credible us their information. I’m skeptical about any information coming from them because mom had very limited access due to a family violence issue. I don’t know if she was convicted or not.
With the information in this article, a clear picture is shown that the parents knew there were issues with this young man. As far as the mother, who seems to be out of the picture for the most part,tried to warn the school. Continued prayers for this family, the families of all who lost loved ones and the school.
15:53 there’s definitely been times in my family when a text that reads “I’m sorry” would lead me to worry that my child is going to end their life. I would like to know what kind of mental health resources are available to families in that area because I personally know families with children who are in crisis who cannot access mental health services either because they don’t exist or because they are overwhelmed with need or don’t have insurance.
Bullying at this school or at a different school still doesn’t warrant a school shooting. There is no excuse for taking the lives he took he is severly disturbed and was failed by many. The victims were failed here as well because this could have been prevented. School officials aware need to also face charges.
Why didn’t the mother call the police too her father is blaming the father but the mother has been in an out of jail all of his life….the FBI didn’t have enough on him to contact the school…..did the school know he had mental problems seems like everyone missed it with kid……so was he mad at his parents since he called her and said mom I am sorry sorry……did the relatives grandfather etc try together to get help for him…..they need a floating counselor in the schools…..and every school should have metal detectors at games and school. This is sad he ruined his whole life
If you’re going to blame the parents (and you should), you better blame society, this country and the way we all live because it’s absolutely disgusting and a major contributing factor to events like this. This is NOTHING compared to what the future will be like in just another few decades with the way our society is heading. Values and morals ARE GONE in this country. COMPLETELY.
Although the mother had her own problems, she at least tried to sound an alarm even though she didn’t live with them or have regular contact due to court order I believe. I’m Sorry Angenette but your guest doesn’t have all the facts. The father and son just moved to this area and he just started this new school a couple weeks before. If something wasn’t in the school records or the parents raise concerns with the school when registering, then they would have no prior knowledge of what happened before this school year.
How does a 14 year old carry a frigging RIFLE into a school with today’s societal awareness of school shootings? Nobody saw him carry it into the building? The effort, to conceal a rifle, in it’s self is obvious. Yet, NOBODY was suspicious of his actions that morning? Next, the counselor stated, he had spoken of shooting people that morning??? That kid should have been locked down right then an there! The mom calls the school and warns them of an emergency 30 minutes before the kid opens fire? The school administrators take no action? Catastrophic failure on so many levels. Just, heartbreaking!
i think charging the dad for a decision the kid made is disgusting….if the dad wouldve dropped him off and they had proof the dad knew he was going to shoot the school up..then yes, he should 100% be charged…..but its not illegal to own a rifle under 18..its illegal to own a handgun under 18 tho…this is disgusting…charging the dad as a “principle” is disgusting.
17:35 . The lady says the school doesn’t have to ask permission. That’s a police state. Fine they are under age so I get it. Now this gets to my point that if the school has parental roles than why is the Dad going to jail and nobody else??? The Dad should not be I jail. He did not pull the trigger!! You can’t possibly trace all of the influences on these kids!!
Here is a very strong warning for parents and other family members, to be more attentive to our children. Without minimizing what that child did, what he wanted with these things was attention from his family and to claim the love that he surely lacks. Love is not buying things, love is attention in many ways
Just going to keep non stop politicizing ab this issue instead of making sure every school & every kid within that school will never have to worry ab school mass shooters & they’re safe but no kids aren’t safe @ school anymore when did school mass shootings become a thing started w bullying..started w at home issues who knows but this needs to stop & probably never will…