Deadly unintentional shootings by children increased 43 percent in March and April (2020) compared to average gun deaths during the same two months over the last three years, . . . The "alarming uptick" coincided with the time span that gun sales were surging during coronavirus lockdowns.
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In one of the shootings, a seven-year-old boy unintentionally killed his three-year-old sister in their suburban Denver home as the two were playing "swords," the Associated Press reported. The little girl had been using a broomstick, and the boy picked up a .12 gauge shotgun his mother had left leaning next to the couch. The gun went off, fatally striking the girl in the chest.

. . . When police responded, the boy reportedly came to the top of the stairs with his hands up, saying, "I'm sorry, I was playing with the gun. I didn't know it was loaded."