NASHVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – Tennessee now ranks first in the nation for fatal unintentional shootings according to the most recent data from The Centers for Disease Control, compiled in a report by the Safe Tennessee Project.
Previously, Tennessee ranked 9th based on statistics from 2013, when 19 Tennesseans died in accidental shootings. In 2014, the number jumped to 105.
The Safe Tennessee Project said unintentional shootings involving adults most often occur when gun owners fail to clear the chamber before cleaning or handling firearms or when loaded guns are dropped.
Unintentional shootings involving children most often occur when children gain access to unsecured, loaded guns that have not been safely stored, according to the report.
“We’ve actually been aware of the new numbers for several months, but the increase was so dramatic that we wanted to confirm the numbers before reporting them,” said Beth Joslin Roth, Policy Director for The Safe Tennessee Project.
“We reached out to the CDC who explained that the numbers in their national database were uploaded directly from the state health departments. We then reached out to the Tennessee Department of Health who checked their records and verified that the numbers were in fact correct.”
The full report can be read on the Safe Tennessee Project website.