Most incidents (64.0%) occurred at the victim’s residence, and in 80.9% of cases the firearm owner was a relative of the shooter. Most victims were male (81.4%), and 40.9% were 2–4 years old. There were 279 firearm fatalities during the study period involving children < 15 years old who unintentionally killed themselves or another child < 15 years old. Unintentional firearm fatalities among children were reviewed to identify characteristics of decedents and the children who inflicted the deaths, their relationship, and circumstances of the deaths. Ten years of data from the National Violent Death Reporting System were analyzed. This study characterizes firearm fatalities in the USA in which children < 15 years old unintentionally killed themselves or another child. Many prior studies on this topic lack detailed information about the circumstances of the firearm fatalities and include decedents and shooters of all ages. Firearm injuries are the leading cause of mortality among children and adolescents 1–19 years old in the USA.
