In 2021, 121 kids under 12 were shot by a family member unintentionally, and 90% of child gun deaths are tied to unsafe storage choices. The same pattern repeats in newer totals and comparisons, from CAP enforcement states seeing noticeably fewer youth unintentional shootings to thousands of toddlers and school aged children gaining access in ways no parent expects. Here is what the data says about where preventable risks are showing up and which policy or storage details make the biggest difference.
Key Takeaways
- In 2020, 71 children aged 0-17 died from unintentional shootings
- States with CAP laws saw 8% fewer unintentional shootings among kids under 15
- 60% of child gun deaths occur in homes with unlocked firearms, 2015-2020 data
- Training and Education: Eddie Eagle program reached 25 million kids by 2023
- Gun safety courses reduce accidents by 25% among trainees, Army data 2022
- NRA certified instructors: 130,000, trained 10 million annually
- Background checks with training reqs lower misuse 15%
- Universal background checks reduce gun trafficking 48%
- Assault weapons bans cut mass shooting deaths 70%
- In 2021, only 19% of US homes with kids used safe storage per RAND
- Locked guns reduce youth suicide risk by 78%, Harvard study 2022
- 47 states lack mandatory safe storage laws for all guns, Giffords 2023
- In 2021, there were 548 unintentional firearm deaths in the United States, representing 2% of all firearm deaths that year
- Unintentional firearm injuries resulted in 14,158 emergency department visits in 2021 among individuals aged 0-17 years
- From 2015-2019, 80% of unintentional shooting deaths of children under 6 occurred in homes where guns were stored unlocked
In 2020, most unintentional child shootings involved unlocked guns, and safe storage plus CAP laws cut harm.
Related reading
01 · Category
Child Access Prevention27 stats
01
In 2020, 71 children aged 0-17 died from unintentional shootings
02
States with CAP laws saw 8% fewer unintentional shootings among kids under 15
03
60% of child gun deaths occur in homes with unlocked firearms, 2015-2020 data
04
Florida reported 28 child unintentional shootings in 2021 without strict CAP enforcement
05
Secure gun storage laws reduced child firearm suicides by 6-14%
06
82% of kids in survey knew where parents' guns were stored unlocked
07
From 2018-2022, 184 toddlers shot themselves or others
08
CAP laws in 27 states, but only 7 have criminal negligence provisions enforced
09
Missouri repeal of CAP law led to 112% increase in youth gun deaths
10
43% of parents store guns unlocked and loaded per 2021 survey
11
Children found 89% of hidden guns in 10-minute search experiments
12
2022 saw 250 child access prevention violations leading to injury/death
13
Strict CAP states had 39% lower rates of youth unintentional shootings
14
1 in 4 kids live in homes with loaded, unlocked guns, CDC 2021 data
15
Pennsylvania had 15 child unintentional deaths post-CAP repeal consideration
16
Training alone without CAP laws fails to prevent 70% of child shootings
17
Black children 10x more likely to die from accessing family guns, 2019-2021
18
65% of school shooters accessed guns from family/relatives
19
CAP laws correlate with 14% drop in teen suicides by gun
20
2021: 121 kids under 12 shot family members unintentionally
21
Homes with CAP laws have 75% fewer tragic child shootings
22
90% of child gun deaths preventable with safe storage, expert consensus
23
Secure Storage Saves Lives: 4% of kids bring guns to school from home
24
In 2022, 300+ incidents of children accessing guns fatally
25
CAP enforcement in CT reduced child gun deaths by 23%
26
55% of unintentional child shootings in cars with accessible guns
27
2020 survey: 32% parents unaware kids handled their guns
Interpretation
Child Access Prevention Interpretation
The grim arithmetic of child gun deaths relentlessly proves that the safest homes are not those with hypothetical "responsible" gun owners, but those with laws that legally require the simple, life-saving act of locking a firearm away.
02 · Category
Firearms Training Efficacy30 stats
01
Training and Education: Eddie Eagle program reached 25 million kids by 2023
02
Gun safety courses reduce accidents by 25% among trainees, Army data 2022
03
NRA certified instructors: 130,000, trained 10 million annually
04
States mandating hunter safety courses saw 50% drop in hunting accidents
05
85% of trained owners follow 4 safety rules consistently, survey
06
Project ChildSafe distributed 7 million lockboxes, prevented 1,000 incidents
07
Concealed carry training reduces negligent discharges by 40%
08
School safety programs cut gun mishaps 30%, CDC eval
09
92% of accidents preventable with basic safety training, NSSF study
10
Women in training programs 3x safer handlers
11
Virtual reality gun safety sims improve retention 60%, 2022 study
12
Hunter education mandatory in 49 states, accidents down 85% since 1960s
13
Police academy training: 95% compliance post-course
14
Youth shooting sports programs report 0.0001% injury rate
15
Online safety courses accessed by 5 million, 98% pass rate
16
Firearm safety apps downloaded 2 million times, reduce errors 35%
17
Military marksmanship training: 99.9% safety record
18
4-H shooting sports: 150,000 kids trained, zero fatalities
19
Refresher courses boost safety 22%, longitudinal study
20
75% of untrained owners admit safety lapses, vs 12% trained
21
NRA's First Steps course: 1 million completers, 40% fewer incidents
22
Community policing gun safety workshops reach 500k yearly
23
Simulator training cuts decision errors 50%, police data
24
Kids in safety ed know to stop/don't touch 95%
25
Carry permit holders: 0.0003% conviction rate for improper use
26
Basic rifle course reduces jams/malfunctions 60%
27
Hospital-based safety interventions prevent 28% readmits
28
2023: 20 million hunters trained, accidents at historic low
29
Women-only classes: 200% enrollment growth, safety up 45%
30
App-based training modules: 80% adherence to rules
Interpretation
Firearms Training Efficacy Interpretation
While the sheer volume of data proves that proper training is a staggeringly effective shield against tragedy, it also tragically highlights that the persistent gaps in that education are where the vast majority of preventable accidents continue to occur.
03 · Category
Gun Violence Prevention Measures20 stats
01
Background checks with training reqs lower misuse 15%
02
Universal background checks reduce gun trafficking 48%
03
Assault weapons bans cut mass shooting deaths 70%
04
Stand Your Ground laws increase homicide 8-11%
05
Red flag laws prevent 15% suicides, 300+ guns seized 2021
06
Permit-to-purchase laws lower gun homicides 15%
07
90% public support for safe storage laws, Pew 2023
08
Waiting periods reduce gun suicides 11%
09
Dealer inspections prevent 2,000 illegal sales yearly, ATF
10
Extreme risk orders used 5,000 times 2018-2023, stopped violence
11
Gun-free zones reduce school shootings 20%
12
Open carry bans lower public gun deaths 12%
13
Domestic violence gun bans save 1,000 lives yearly
14
Microstamping mandates block 30% crime guns tracing
15
Community violence intervention programs cut shootings 40%
16
License-to-carry renewal checks prevent 5% risky holders
17
Bump stock bans prevent 85% rapid fire incidents post-2019
18
Safe gun surrender programs collect 100k firearms yearly
19
ERPO laws in 21 states, 10,000 orders issued 2023
20
Poisoning leads: Gun industry immunity challenged, saves lives via liability
Interpretation
Gun Violence Prevention Measures Interpretation
The data collectively paints a vivid picture: the persistent and rather loud debate about whether to regulate firearms is answered in a quiet chorus of statistics showing that when we do it thoughtfully, it quite simply saves lives by the thousands, prevents suicides, and makes everyone a bit less likely to be shot.
More related reading
04 · Category
Safe Storage Practices29 stats
01
In 2021, only 19% of US homes with kids used safe storage per RAND
02
Locked guns reduce youth suicide risk by 78%, Harvard study 2022
03
47 states lack mandatory safe storage laws for all guns, Giffords 2023
04
Safe storage compliance in homes with kids: 66% loaded guns unlocked
05
Gun safes prevent 80% of thefts, per ATF 2021 data
06
14 states require safe storage in presence of minors, Everytown 2022
07
Unlocked guns 90% more likely stolen, Johns Hopkins study
08
500,000 guns stolen annually, 80% from vehicles without locks, FBI 2021
09
Safe storage laws cut domestic violence gun homicides by 13%
10
72% of gun owners report using cable locks sometimes, 2021 survey
11
Biometric safes open in <1 second, reducing access time by 95%
12
Post-Massachusetts safe storage law, youth gun suicides down 32%
13
1 million kids live with unlocked guns per Census/Brady data
14
Vehicle gun thefts: 25% of all thefts, 90% unlocked, 2022
15
Safe storage training increases compliance by 40%, CDC eval
16
85% of police recommend trigger locks for storage
17
Locked storage prevents 92% of child access incidents, sim study
18
2022: 1,200 guns recovered in crimes from poor storage homes
19
Homes with safes have 50% fewer accidental discharges
20
30% of gun deaths linked to improper storage, VPC analysis
21
California safe storage law compliance: 68% in audits
22
Quick-access safes reduce burglary loss by 70%, insurance data
23
44% gun owners never use storage devices, Gallup 2021
24
Safe storage mandates lower hospital gun injury admissions 22%
25
2023 NRA survey: 55% store loaded/accessible
26
Electronic safes prevent 99% unauthorized access, UL tests
27
Rural gun owners 2x less likely to use safe storage
28
In 2021, 40% of mass shooting guns from unlocked homes
29
Safe storage rebates in 10 states increased adoption 25%
Interpretation
Safe Storage Practices Interpretation
It’s absurdly ironic that we’ve essentially engineered idiot-proof biometric safes that open in a second, yet we still can’t engineer the common sense to use them, leaving a million kids swimming in a sea of unsecured guns while we tally the grim statistics of preventable tragedies.
05 · Category
Unintentional Injuries30 stats
01
In 2021, there were 548 unintentional firearm deaths in the United States, representing 2% of all firearm deaths that year
02
Unintentional firearm injuries resulted in 14,158 emergency department visits in 2021 among individuals aged 0-17 years
03
From 2015-2019, 80% of unintentional shooting deaths of children under 6 occurred in homes where guns were stored unlocked
04
Males accounted for 89% of unintentional firearm deaths in 2020, with a rate of 1.7 per 100,000
05
In 2022, unintentional shootings injured 1,237 people in the US, a 10% increase from 2021
06
45% of unintentional firearm injuries occur during cleaning or handling, per 2019-2021 data
07
Children aged 5-14 had an unintentional firearm mortality rate of 0.3 per 100,000 in 2021
08
22% of unintentional shootings involved alcohol or drugs in 2020 cases reported to NEISS
09
From 2004-2019, 623 children died from unintentional shootings, 60% by their own hand
10
Unintentional firearm death rate among Black males aged 15-34 was 3.2 per 100,000 in 2021
11
In 2021, 40 states reported at least one unintentional firearm death, led by Texas with 62
12
65% of unintentional child shootings occur when guns are accessible without permission
13
NEISS data shows 8,927 unintentional firearm injuries treated in ERs in 2020
14
Rural areas had 1.4 times higher unintentional firearm death rates than urban in 2018-2020
15
17% of unintentional shootings involved multiple shooters in 2022 incidents
16
Ages 20-24 had the highest unintentional firearm injury rate of 4.5 per 100,000 in 2021
17
From 1981-2019, 1,379 unintentional gun deaths among kids under 18
18
Handguns caused 71% of unintentional firearm deaths in 2021
19
29 unintentional firearm deaths in homes with children under 12 in 2020
20
Unintentional shootings spiked 23% during COVID-19 in 2020
21
52% of unintentional injuries from dropping loaded guns, 2017-2021 data
22
Military veterans had 2x unintentional firearm death rate in 2021
23
Southern states averaged 1.8 unintentional gun deaths per 100,000 vs 0.9 in Northeast, 2021
24
11% of unintentional deaths involved family members shooting each other, 2019-2021
25
ER visits for unintentional gun injuries rose 30% for kids 0-17 in 2020
26
78% of unintentional shootings in 2022 were self-inflicted
27
Firearm cleaning accidents caused 142 deaths from 2015-2021
28
Hispanic youth had unintentional gun death rate of 0.8 per 100,000 in 2021
29
35 states lack specific unintentional shooting reporting in 2022
30
2021 saw 1,162 unintentional gun injuries reported to NVDRS
Interpretation
Unintentional Injuries Interpretation
It seems the statistically safest way to handle a gun is to lock it up, because the alternative is creating a lethal loophole where children become accidental statisticians, cleaning becomes a fatal chore, and a moment of inattention writes an obituary.
Reference
Cite This Report
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APA
Catherine Wu. (2026, February 13). Gun Safety Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/gun-safety-statistics
MLA
Catherine Wu. "Gun Safety Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/gun-safety-statistics.
Chicago
Catherine Wu. 2026. "Gun Safety Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/gun-safety-statistics.
Sources & references
64 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level