Reading some news over at Indystar.com about an 8 year old girl struck by a “stray” bullet (seems like some idiot thug was out for revenge and shot at the house when he knew kids were in there anyway).

Be mad at the thug, not the gun. But that’s not the purpose of this post. They have a sidebar up on this page:

What’s next
Emmanuel McClendon Jr. is being held without bond in Marion County Jail on a preliminary charge of murder. An initial hearing is scheduled at 8:30 a.m. today in Marion Superior Court. Prosecutors plan to decide on formal charges in coming days.
Funeral arrangements for Karissa Hitchings are pending.
— Star reporter Jon Murray

The unsuspecting
The Friday night killing of 8-year-old Karissa Hitchings was at least the eighth time in the past six years that someone was slain by stray gunfire in Indianapolis.

And the sidebar continues with each of these:

March 31, 2007: Jamitra Mitchell, 22 and pregnant, died after a stray bullet entered the home near 38th Street and Mitthoefer Road that she had moved into just hours earlier. Two groups of men arguing outside had started firing.

Oct. 29, 2006: David Cooper, 17, died after he was struck by a bullet fired into a car. He was riding with a friend in the 4400 block of North Arlington Avenue. They had just left a nearby gas station to avoid a fight. Authorities say the shooters thought Cooper and his friend had been involved in an earlier fight.

Sept. 18, 2006: Alexzander Anthony, 13, was fatally shot by a stray bullet as he walked to his grandmother’s house on North Rural Street. The bullet was fired by people shooting at each other from two cars driving down Rural.

Sept. 18, 2003: Teresa Killion, 40, died after she was caught in the crossfire of a gunbattle between two men near 31st Street and Graceland Avenue on the Near Northside. She was struck in the chest as she walked to a friend’s house.

Aug. 31, 2002: David Karol, 24, died after stray bullets entered a house he was visiting a block from his home on South Gray Street.

July 14, 2002: Rudy Valentine, 59, died after he was struck by a stray bullet as he watched TV in his home in the 3700 block of North Hillside Avenue. The bullet came from a nearby parking lot.

March 30, 2002: Collena Bradshaw, 52, died shortly after being struck by bullets that were fired into the home of a neighbor she was visiting in the 1100 block of North Warman Avenue.
— Star library research

Just to put 6 accidental deaths into perspective, Indiana has had 3,892 deaths by motor vehicle accident from 2002 to 2005 according to CDC data.

Unintentional death by drowning in that timeframe? 241

Unintentional firearm deaths within that timeframe? 67.