Accidental Shooting Statistics: A Review of Unintentional Firearm Deaths from 1979-2024

Accidental shootings made up 0.004% of all injury-related hospital visits in 2023. Falls accounted for 34%.

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Report Highlights:

• In 2024, 1% (438) of all firearm-related deaths (41,656) were due to an accidental shooting.
• 30% (438) of the 1,457 unintentional firearm-related injuries were fatal in 2024.
• There is an average of 114 accidental gun deaths among children and adolescents annually.
• Accidental shootings account for 0.004% of all injuries leading to hospital visits.

Related Studies: Guns in the Home Statistics | Gun Violence Statistics | Hunting Accident Statistics

How Many Accidental Shootings Per Year?

The first six months of 2025 had 608 accidental shootings, which is lower than previous years (2015-2024). ^{Source 2}

The number of accidental shootings in the U.S. increased in 2020 and 2021, and is now declining. 2024 had the lowest number of accidental shootings in the past decade (1,436), while 2025 is on track to be even lower.

How Many Accidental Gun Deaths Per Year?

There has been an average of 486 accidental gun deaths annually over the past decade (2015-2024). ^{Source 1}

Accidental gun deaths have declined by 47% since 1999. Between 1999 and 2014, the U.S. averaged 650 accidental gun deaths annually. Between 2014 and 2024, the average decreased to 486 gun-related accidental deaths per year. ^{Source 1,3}

How Many Kids Accidentally Shoot Themselves?

Between January 2015 and December 2021, 1,195 children (individuals aged 17 and younger) accidentally shot themselves.

Additionally, 1,156 children accidentally shot another person during these same years.

Handguns were most commonly used during these incidents (1,298). Boys were more likely than girls to pull the trigger (1,925 males versus 476 females).

Children between the ages of 14 to 17 were involved in more incidents (794) than other age groups, followed closely by ages 0 to 5 (786).

How Many Child and Adolescent Accidental Gun Deaths per Year?

On average, there are 114 accidental gun deaths among the <1-17 age group (2018-2024).

Although accidental shooting deaths have declined nationwide, unintentional child and adolescent gun deaths have increased by 25% over the past seven years. ^{Source 1}

Accidental Shootings vs. Other Accidental Injuries

Accidental shootings made up 0.004% of all injury-related hospital visits in 2023. Falls accounted for 34%. ^{Source 5, 6}

The top ten injury-related causes for emergency department visits in 2023 were:

1. Falls
2. Struck by/against (individual hit something, or something hit individual)
3. Motor vehicle accidents
4. Other specified injuries (unlisted)
5. Overexertion
6. Poisonings
7. Cut or pierced
8. Assaulted (struck by/against)
9. Bites
10. Foreign body (object in the body)

Wrap-Up

The rate of accidental firearm-related injuries has declined in recent years. Every year, accidental shootings account for substantially fewer injuries and deaths than falls, motor vehicle accidents, and many other non-firearm related causes.

Sources:

1. CDC WONDER (Provisional Mortality Statistics)
2. Gun Violence Archive
3. CDC WONDER (Underlying Cause of Death)
4. Preventable tragedies: findings from the #NotAnAccident index of unintentional shootings by children
5. CDC WISQARS Fatal and Nonfatal Injury Reports
6. CDC WISQARS: 10 Leading Causes of Nonfatal Emergency Department Visits, United States

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