Accidental Shooting Statistics (Updated 2026)

By Cassandra McBride

Last Updated: Mar 2, 2026

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Cassandra McBride

With a Criminology and Sociology background, Cassandra blends advocacy and research to write data-driven articles on the outdoors, politics, and firearms. A staunch Second Amendment supporter, she empowers women through firearm training. At Ammo.com, her work sheds light on gun deaths, ownership trends, and overlooked angles in gun debates.

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Cassandra McBride, "Accidental Shooting Statistics (Updated 2026)"
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Related Studies: Stray Bullet Deaths: Accidents and Statistics | How Many Households in the U.S. Have a Gun? | U.S. Firearm Deaths Per Year: A Collective Report

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How Many Accidental Shootings Per Year?

According to the CDC's provisional data, the rate of accidental shootings has declined over recent years. Data show there were 284 accidental shooting deaths in the United States from January through July in 2025. This aligns with prior trends showing an increase in accidental shooting deaths in 2020 and 2021, then a consistent decline in 2022.

On average, there were 485 accidental shooting deaths each year between 2018 and 2024. This average was driven up by the 535 deaths in 2020 and 549 deaths in 2021. Accidental shooting deaths decreased to 444 in 2024, which aligns with pre-COVID trends.

Similar to accidental shooting deaths, accidental shootings spiked in 2020 (2,312 incidents) and 2021 (2,015), followed by a decline to pre-pandemic levels. Accidental shootings decreased in 2025, when there were 1,327 reported incidents.

How Many Accidental Gun Deaths Per Year?

According to the CDC, there were 824 accidental shooting deaths in 1999. The number of deaths declined by 47% to 438 in 2024.

Between 1999 and 2014, the U.S. averaged 653 accidental gun deaths annually. Between 2014 and 2024, the average decreased to 485 gun-related accidental deaths per year. ^{1, 3}

What Percentage of Gun Deaths Are Accidental?

Between 2018 and 2025, 1% of gun deaths were attributed to accidental shootings. Despite there being thousands of gun deaths annually, accidental shootings constitute a small percentage of the nation's total gun deaths.

In 2018, there were 39,740 gun deaths in the U.S. Of those, 458 were unintentional. In 2020 and 2021, gun deaths increased to 45,222 and 48,830, respectively. During those years, accidental gun deaths increased to 535 and 549.

Accidental gun deaths trend with all other deaths. Although the percentage remained at 1% of all gun deaths, totals increased and decreased along with all other deaths (homicide, suicide, etc.).

How Many People Accidentally Shoot Themselves?

Studies show that about half of those who die from an accidental shooting shot themselves.

Data is sparse regarding accidental self-inflicted gunshot injuries. Most studies and CDC WONDER Database reports do not classify who fired fatal shots. However, a study conducted during 2003 to 2006 suggests that younger people (0-14) were most likely to be shot by someone else (78% of incidents), while older victims were more likely to shoot themselves. ⁷

How Many Kids Accidentally Shoot Themselves?

Children made up one-quarter of the nation's accidental shooting deaths (862 of 3,398) between 2018 and 2025. ¹ Between January 2015 and December 2021, 1,195 children (i.e. individuals aged 17 and younger) accidentally shot themselves. ⁴ Additionally, 1,156 children accidentally shot another person during those same years.

Handguns were most commonly used during these incidents (1,298). Boys were more likely than girls to pull the trigger (1,925 vs. 476).

Children between the ages of 14 and 17 were involved in more incidents (794) than other age groups, followed closely by ages <1 to 5 (786).

How Many Child and Adolescent Accidental Gun Deaths Per Year?

On average, there are 114 annual accidental gun deaths among the <1-17 age group (2018-2024).

Although accidental shooting deaths have declined nationwide, unintentional child and adolescent gun deaths have increased by 42% from 2018 (88 deaths) to 2024 (125 deaths). However, these fatalities peaked in 2021, at 140 deaths, and have trended downward. ¹

Accidental Shootings vs. Other Accidental Injuries

Accidental shootings made up 0.004% of all injury-related hospital visits in 2023. Falls accounted for 34%. ^{5, 6}

The top ten injury-related causes for emergency department visits in 2023 were:

1. Falls
2. Struck by/against (an individual hit something, or something hit the individual)
3. Motor vehicle accidents
4. Other specified injuries (unlisted)
5. Overexertion
6. Poisonings
7. Cut or pierced
8. Assaulted (struck by/against)
9. Bites
10. Foreign body (object in the body)

Wrap-Up

The rate of accidental firearm-related injuries has declined in recent years. Every year, accidental shootings account for substantially fewer injuries and deaths than falls, motor vehicle accidents, and many other non-firearm-related causes.

Sources

1. CDC WONDER (Provisional Mortality Statistics)
2. Gun Violence Archive
3. CDC WONDER (Underlying Cause of Death)
4. Preventable tragedies: findings from the #NotAnAccident index of unintentional shootings by children
5. CDC WISQARS Fatal and Nonfatal Injury Reports
6. CDC WISQARS: 10 Leading Causes of Nonfatal Emergency Department Visits, United States
7. Unintentional firearm deaths: A comparison of other-inflicted and self-inflicted shootings

Written by

Cassandra McBride