Asking Saves Lives
ASK is a simple way to help keep kids safe and a fundamental part of our End Family Fire campaign.
Introduction
It is critical to remember the importance of secure gun storage in keeping our loved ones safe. Unintentional shootings increase during major holidays due to more time spent in and around the home. In 2023, Brady released an analysis examining unintentional shootings from 2018-2022, which documented clear spikes during holiday weeks. Updated data through 2025 confirms this pattern persists — while also revealing an encouraging broader decline in gun violence nationwide.
Preventing access to unsecured firearms is particularly important in reducing unintentional injury among U.S. youth. Each day, 8 kids are unintentionally shot or killed, and in 2025, there were at least 233 unintentional shootings in which a child pulled the trigger. A recent article from the Centers for Disease Control found that approximately three-quarters of fatal unintentional shootings among children involved an unlocked and loaded firearm. Research demonstrates that if just 20% more households securely stored their firearms locked and unloaded, youth firearm suicide and fatal unintentional shootings would decrease by up to 32%.
Although unintentional shooting deaths account for a small fraction of firearm-related deaths each year, they account for a large proportion of firearm injuries. From 2019-2020, unintentional firearm injury was the most common type of firearm injury that required hospitalization.
Methodology
Using data from the Gun Violence Archive, we analyzed the number of unintentional shooting incidents between 2018-2025, which they recorded as “Accidental Shootings.” To gather this information for all ages, we downloaded information from their “Past Years” database; we then used the search query function to isolate “Child Involved Incidents” for shootings perpetrated by a child ages 0-17. We used a week-level analysis to determine which weeks have a higher number of unintentional shootings.
If previous research is any indication, we expect to see spikes around Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, New Year's, Memorial Day, and Independence Day. The findings of Brady’s own analysis examining 2018-2022 data were consistent with this. These time periods involve more time in and around the home, and are often accompanied by increased alcohol consumption, and an increase in firearm purchasing – especially when examining the winter holidays.
Each week was assigned on a 7-day period basis. Table 3 (seen below) indicates the dates assigned to each week.
Unintentional Shootings Among All Ages
On average, from 2018-2022, the Gun Violence Archive verified 1,915 unintentional shooting incidents each year, with incidents being the highest during the years of the COVID-19 pandemic. When examining data from 2018-2025, the Gun Violence Archive verified 1,750 unintentional shooting incidents on average per year, with incidents remaining the highest during peak pandemic years.
As seen in Figure 1, gun violence in the United States has been on a significant downward trajectory since the pandemic-era peak. Between 2018-2020, unintentional shootings increased by 37%. During this time more people were at home, firearm purchases surged, and overall gun violence increased – all of which are associated with increased unintentional shooting incidents.
Unintentional shootings have been decreasing since 2022, with 2025 having the lowest number of unintentional shootings in the past decade (1,341 incidents). Despite the overall decline, the holiday spike pattern documented in Brady’s original analysis persists.
Across the country, states with weak gun laws and higher levels of gun ownership typically have a higher number of unintentional shootings in a year than states with stronger gun laws. For example, Texas – which does not have a safe storage law and has the highest rate of gun ownership in the country – has the highest number of unintentional shootings on average. Comparatively, Hawaii – a state with robust firearm laws, including laws around secure storage, and one of the lowest rates of gun ownership – has the lowest number of unintentional shootings on average.
When people spend more time in and around the home and have easy access to firearms, there is an increased likelihood of injury or death.
We know that during the warmer summer months, unintentional shootings increase. In this analysis, we find that the same is true during major holidays.
Table 1: Weeks with the Highest Average Number of Unintentional Shootings, 2018-2025
| Rank | Week | Dates | Average Number of Unintentional Shootings |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | December 30 - January 5 New Year’s | 52 |
| 2 | 27 | June 29 - July 5 Independence Day | 48 |
| 3 | 30 | July 20 - July 26 | 43 |
| 4 | 52 | December 21 - December 29 Winter Holidays | 43 |
| 5 | 22 | May 25 - May 31 Memorial Day | 41 |
| 6 | 48 | November 23 - November 29 Thanksgiving* | 39 |
| 7 | 23 | June 1 - June 7 | 38 |
| 8 | 26 | June 22 - June 28 | 38 |
| 9 | 47 | November 16 - November 22 | 37 |
| 10 | 15 | April 6 - April 12 | 37 |
On average, unintentional shootings involving people of all ages occurred most frequently during the weeks surrounding New Year’s and Independence Day.
Winter holidays, including Christmas and Hanukkah, and Thanksgiving, also consistently ranked among the periods with the highest numbers of unintentional shootings. These patterns remained stable across both the original analysis of 2018–2022 data and the updated analysis covering 2018–2025, indicating that major holidays and holiday gatherings continue to be associated with elevated rates of unintentional shootings.
While the overall ordering of the highest-risk weeks shifted somewhat between analyses, the underlying trend persisted. Notably, the average number of unintentional shootings during the highest-ranked week was approximately 10% lower in the 2018–2025 analysis than in the 2018–2022 analysis.
*In 2018, Thanksgiving fell on November 22. From 2019-2025, Thanksgiving was between November 23 and November 28.
Around major holidays, people are more likely to be in or around the home. That, combined with easy access to firearms stored unlocked and loaded, proves to be a dangerous combination for unintentional shootings.
To prevent unintentional firearm injury around the holidays, firearms must be stored securely: unloaded, locked, and separated from ammunition.
A study found that when firearms are stored loaded and unlocked, there is a higher risk of unintentional firearm death. To keep people safe, keeping guns locked, unloaded, and separate from ammunition is of the utmost importance.
Unintentional Shootings Among Children
On average, the Gun Violence Archive verifies 211 unintentional shootings perpetrated by children (aged 0-17) each year. As seen in Figure 4, unintentional shootings perpetrated by U.S. children peaked during the COVID-19 pandemic – a time when more people were at home, and firearm purchases surged. In 2021, the number of unintentional shootings perpetrated by children hit an eight-year high and was 46% higher than it was in 2018. Unlike the trends seen across all age groups, post-pandemic child-inflicted unintentional shootings remained higher than pre-pandemic levels, dropping only 12% from their 2021 peak. This emphasizes the need for increased secure storage to prevent child firearm access.
In fact, 85% of fatal unintentional shootings of children occur in a home.
Table 2: Unintentional Shootings With
Child Victims (Age 0-17), 2018-2025
| Killed | Injured | Total Number of Children | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 27 | 123 | 150 |
| 2019 | 76 | 210 | 286 |
| 2020 | 137 | 332 | 469 |
| 2021 | 145 | 303 | 448 |
| 2022 | 116 | 219 | 335 |
| 2023 | 113 | 228 | 341 |
| 2024 | 95 | 184 | 279 |
| 2025 | 83 | 179 | 262 |
The number of unintentional shootings where children are the victims — either killed or injured — is even higher.
These findings highlight the importance of safe storage in preventing firearm-related harm among minors.
Just as with unintentional shootings at large, states with weak gun laws and higher rates of gun ownership also typically have a higher number of unintentional shootings perpetrated by children (aged 0-17) in a year than states with stronger gun laws. Texas also has the highest number of unintentional shootings perpetrated by children on average. Comparatively, Hawaii – a state with one of the lowest rates of gun ownership and robust firearm laws, including a law requiring secure gun storage that went into effect as of April 2025 – had no unintentional shootings perpetrated by children on average.
At times when children have easy access to firearms, there is an increased number of incidents in which a child unintentionally pulls the trigger.
Previous research indicates that recent household firearm acquisition is associated with an increased risk of unintentional firearm injury and death among young children (younger than 12 years of age). In order to keep children safe, gun owners must utilize responsible storage practices that ensure firearms are kept locked and unloaded to reduce the chance of unintentional injury and death for the entire family.
On average, unintentional shootings perpetrated by children occur most frequently in the summer
Table 2. Weeks with the Highest Average Number of Unintentional Shootings
Perpetrated by Children (aged 0-17), 2018-2025
| Rank | Week | Dates | Average Number of Unintentional Shootings |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 22 | May 25 - May 31 Memorial Day | 6.375 |
| 2 | 36 | Aug 31 - Sept 6 Labor Day | 5.75 |
| 3 | 30 | July 20 - July 26 | 5.625 |
| 4 | 20 | May 11 - May 17 | 5.5 |
| 4 | 45 | Nov 2 - Nov 8 | 5.5 |
| 5 | 26 | June 22 - June 28 | 5.125 |
| 6 | 28 | July 6 - July 12 | 5 |
| 7 | 23 | June 1 - 7 | 4.875 |
| 7 | 27 | June 29 - July 5 Independence Day | 4.875 |
| 7 | 31 | July 27 - Aug 2 | 4.875 |
Around major holidays and during the summer, children are more likely to be home or visiting the homes of others and are less likely to be supervised closely. That, combined with easy access to unlocked and loaded firearms, proves to be a dangerous combination for unintentional shootings. Half of the weeks with the most unintentional shootings perpetrated by children occurred during the summer.
ASK family, friends, and members of your community if there is an unlocked gun in the home.
ASK (Asking Saves Kids), a campaign created by Brady, encourages everyone — especially parents, caregivers, and healthcare professionals — to ask about firearm access and safety. It is a simple way to help keep kids safe and a fundamental part of our End Family Fire program. Parents and guardians ask all sorts of questions before they allow their children to visit other homes; they ask about pets, discuss allergies, and ask questions about supervision. ASK encourages parents and guardians to add one more question to this conversation: "Is there an unlocked gun where my child plays?" This question is essential to preventing injuries and saving lives.
Limitations of Analysis
The Gun Violence Archive uses data provided by law enforcement that their researchers independently verify. However, their datasets leave out a large proportion of non-fatal unintentional firearm injuries that often go unreported.
Each year, unintentional shootings kill more than 500 people and injure more than a thousand others. Further, hospital-based reporting from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) indicates that an average of 32,758 people – including 2,893 children – are unintentionally shot and sustain non-fatal injuries each year.
Yet, the Gun Violence Archive is only able to independently verify an average of 1,750 unintentional shooting incidents each year. This gap in data leaves much to be understood about the frequency of unintentional shootings. Despite this restriction, this analysis provides essential insights into the conditions that may facilitate an increase in unintentional shootings. However, because HCUP does not allow for their publicly available dataset to be broken down into a week-level analysis, we chose to utilize the Gun Violence Archive’s verified database.
Conclusions
In alignment with previous reporting, this analysis found that the weeks around major holidays are when the most unintentional shootings occur. However, this increase in unintentional injuries and deaths is completely preventable.
The holidays are times when we spend time with our loved ones, create memories, and celebrate. To do that safely, we must ensure that all firearms are safely stored: locked, unloaded, and separate from ammunition.
When more people are at home and have easy access to unsecured firearms, there are more unintentional shootings. To prevent these tragedies from impacting your own family, it is important to ensure all of your household’s firearms are securely stored — locked, unloaded, and separate from ammunition — and to ASK about guns in the homes of others.
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End Family Fire
Family fire refers to a shooting caused by someone having access to a gun from the home when they shouldn’t have it. This includes children as well as those who display behavior that indicates they could harm themselves or others.
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How to Keep Your Family Safe This Holiday Season and Practice Safe Storage to End Family Fire
As the holiday season continues and homes begin to fill with family and friends, it’s important to keep our homes safe — and that includes practicing safe firearm storage to prevent family fire.