Gun Shootings Involving Children Rare in Northern New England

An analysis of accidental shootings involving children shows few incidents in northern New England, though Vermont stands out due to its small population.

The Associated Press and the USA TODAY Network analyzed the circumstances of more than 1,000 accidental shootings involving children, using information collected by the Gun Violence Archive, a nonpartisan research group.

There were five incidents in northern New England between Jan. 1, 2014, and June 30 of this year. There was one death and three injuries in Vermont, and one injury in Maine.

On November 1, 2014, an Oxford, Maine, teenager accidently shot himself with a handgun at his home on a Sunday afternoon. The 16-year-old boy was flown to Maine Medical Center in Portland, where he underwent surgery.

On April 23, 2015, a 6-year-old boy in Burlington, Vermont was target shooting with his father and two other children in Underhill when the .22-caliber pistol he was using failed to discharge. The boy lowered the weapon and it fired, striking him in his lower left leg. Authorities said the boy was admitted to the hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.

On August 30, 2015, a 9-year-old girl from Poultney, Vermont, was accidentally shot in the abdomen by her father at a hunting camp in Ira. Her brother carried her out of the woods to an ambulance. Police said McKenzie Ezzo’s father, Randy Babcock, was clearing a .22-caliber handgun when it accidentally fired. The girl underwent emergency surgery and spent more than a week in the hospital.

On May 4, 2016, a 13-year-old Vermont boy accidentally shot himself in the foot with a small-caliber while hunting in Waitsfield. The teen was treated and released from a local hospital.

The one fatality involved 10-year-old Logan Cookson, who died May 24, 2014 after accidentally shooting himself in the abdomen with a .22-caliber revolver during a hunting outing in Cabot, Vermont.

With four shootings, Vermont ranks 10th highest in its per capita rate of accidental shootings involving minors. Vermont's population, at about 630,000, is second-smallest to Wyoming in size.

The rest of the New England states have among the lowest rates in the nation