Deadly accidental shootings on the rise in South Florida
Serious accidental shootings that once were relatively rare tragedies in Broward and Palm Beach counties have been happening with alarming frequency over the past two years.
Since 2010, nearly a dozen such shootings in the region have left a victim critically injured or dead — a dramatic increase from prior years when such cases typically were reported only once or twice annually, according to police and media reports.
Amid the string of cautionary tales is the heartache of a Deerfield Beach father, who forgot his handgun in his pickup truck on an afternoon in February 2010. His 10-year-old son found the gun and shot and killed his 11-year-old brother.
The son of a Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office deputy shot and wounded his brother inside their home in the Acreage in March.
Most recently, a Fort Lauderdale man killed his 17-year-old brother with a bullet to the head on Sept. 3. He told police he thought the gun's safety mechanism was engaged when he pulled the trigger.
All of the casualties were preventable, gun experts said.
"Accidental discharges don't really happen. It's a negligent discharge," said Will Farrugia, a South Florida firearms instructor. "If you don't pull the trigger, the gun will not go off."
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