Recent child firearm deaths highlight troubling trend in Utah

Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes

SALT LAKE CITY — Five Utah children have died by gunfire in the last two weeks.

An 8-year-old child died after accidentally shooting himself in the head in Lehi on Monday. It was a similar story in the death of a 5-year-old in Santaquin on Aug. 22. And three children and their mother were found deceased with gunshot wounds in a vehicle in West Haven Tuesday.

The KSL Investigators have reported extensively on the troubling trend of firearm deaths among children and teens.

A 2022 KSL investigation found the number of Utah kids and teens dying by gunfire hit a record high of 42 in 2020.

According to an online statewide database run by the Utah Department of Health and Human Services, 2020 remains the deadliest year in recent history for firearm deaths among Utahns 18 and younger. The data accounts for both intentional and unintentional deaths, suicides, and homicides.

The state lost more Utahns 18 and younger to gunfire in 2020 than car crashes or other sorts of injuries, according to state data.

While firearms deaths trended down after 2020 – with 27 in 2021 and 25 in 2022 – Utah saw an uptick last year, with 33 kids and teens dying in firearm-related incidents in 2023.

During an interview with KSL on Wednesday, Michael Staley, with the state Office of the Medical Examiner, noted there are steps gun owners in Utah can take to prevent another tragedy.

"We know that there are a lot of firearms in our state relative to the rest of the nation," he said. "Everybody wants to make sure that they're storing their firearms safely, and that means making sure that they're not stored loaded, that they're not unlocked."

It won't be clear how this year stacks up to recent years for another several months, but based on a review of KSL news archives and reporting, at least nine children and teens have been lost to gunfire so far in 2024.