News
Toddlers Killed More People Than Terrorists
Today in depressing news, it turns out toddlers are more dangerous than terrorists. That is, if you judge danger by how many people they killed this year.
Toddlers (that is, toddlers with the loaded guns left out in their homes) have accidentally killed 11 people so far this year, whereas terrorists in the US (aka the Boston Bomber) have killed four.
Of course, the news that guns kill more Americans than terrorists do is nothing new. CNN reports that in 2010, 13,186 people died in terrorist attacks WORLDWIDE, while a whopping 31,672 people were killed by guns in America alone. But the reality that even toddlers, who can barely use a crayon, have now surpassed terrorists? Well that's just downright grim.
Opposing Views breaks down the sad, monthly timeline:
Jan. 10: 6-year-old playmate shoots and kills 4-year-old Trinity Ross, Kansas City, Kan.
Feb. 11: 4-year-old Joshua Johnson shoots and kills himself, Memphis, Tenn.
Feb. 24: 4-year-old Jaiden Pratt dies after shooting himself in the stomach while his father sleeps, Houston.
March 30: 4-year-old Rahquel Carr shot and killed either by 6-year-old brother or another young playmate, Miami.
April 6: Josephine Fanning, 48, shot and killed by 4-year-old boy at a barbecue, Wilson County, Tenn.
April 8: 4-year-old shoots and kills 6-year-old friend Brandon Holt, Toms River, N.J.
April 9: 3-year-old is killed after he finds a pink gun that he thinks is a toy, Greenville, S.C.
April 30: 2-year-old Caroline Sparks killed by her 5-year-old brother with his Cricket “My First Rifle” marketed to kids, Cumberland County, Ky.
May 1: 3-year-old Darrien Nez shoots himself in the face and dies after finding his grandmother’s gun, Yuma, Ariz.
May 7: 3-year-old Jadarrius Speights fatally shoots himself with his uncle’s gun, Tampa, Fla.
June 7: 4-year-old fatally shoots his father, Green Beret Justin Thomas, Prescott Valley, Ariz.
At least 10 more toddlers have shot but not killed themselves or someone else this year (seehere, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here). In the first three cases, the shooter was only 2 years old.
As the NRA might say, guns don't kill people. Toddlers kill people.
