A gun in the home increases the risk of accidents. So does a gun next door. GunFAIL CXXXIV

It was a relatively quiet week, with only 26 incidents listed at publication time. But the toll was a heavy one on the home front. Eleven of the 26 incidents involved minors getting shot, with four fatalities among them. The youngest victim this week was just 13 months old. Eleven incidents likewise involved people accidentally shooting themselves, while nine of the victims were shot by people identified in reports as friends or family members. Together, that accounts for 20 of the original 26 reports. In 20 out of the 25 incidents in which someone was shot, the shooter is clearly identified as either having shot himself, or a friend or family member. And it certainly seems to be the case in a few of those remaining reports, but it's not stated outright. Not. Very. Good.

Among the stranger stories from the week are the Minnesota man who slept with a gun for protection but ... shot himself in his sleep; the Pennsylvania man who dropped his gun at home and shot his elderly neighbor through the apartment wall, and; the local elected official from Alburgh, VT, who accidentally shot himself, and then turned out to be the biggest drug dealer in town, and not a "good guy with a gun" after all.

Hey, people still surprise me, even after all this time!

The full listings for the week of August 9-15, below the fold.