Teen gun violence leading to accidental shootings, 'community problem' in Tampa Bay area

TAMPA, Fla. - Tampa Bay area teenagers are getting their hands on guns, and it's happening all too often with devastating and deadly consequences.

In the past month alone, two teens have died in accidental shootings and others have been injured across Hillsborough and Pinellas counties.

Over Easter weekend, a 13-year-old accidentally shot themselves in St. Petersburg while standing with a group of friends. That teen is okay, but it’s a problem that the police are frustrated by.

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"We had several juveniles this weekend that actually shot themselves with firearms," said Mike Kovacseve, the assistant police chief for the St. Pete Police Department. "I don't know how that occurs all the time, that when they break into vehicles, because we continue to leave them unlocked, and they're able to get firearms, we're continuing to deal with those problems as a city."

Just days before that shooting, investigators in Ruskin said a 14-year-old died after another teen accidentally shot him, and two weeks earlier, deputies in Hillsborough County said a teen accidentally shot and killed themselves.

"These are young lives that are now devastated, and their families are devastatingly impacted and the communities impacted. It just really goes to show we've got so much more work to do," said Freddy Barton, the executive director of Safe and Sound Hillsborough.

Safe and Sound Hillsborough is a violence prevention partnership between all major law enforcement and justice systems and other stakeholders in Hillsborough County. It takes a public health approach to reduce violence, especially juvenile violence.

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Its youth gun offender program aims to get kids back on the right track, but they're seeing the escalating juvenile gun issue firsthand.

"Unfortunately, we've seen a stark increase in the number of youth that we're serving. We have seen, from 2021 to 2023, the number of youth involving guns arrested on gun charges have nearly doubled," said Barton.

He said this year, 80% of the guns recovered from teens came from unlocked cars. While they're seeing success with the youth in their program, Barton said the number of young kids entering the system shows a root problem that requires a community effort.

"We ask them, ‘why did you want to pick up this gun in the first place?’ And their response is, ‘because everyone else has them, and I have a fear for my own life, so I need to get one,’" said Barton.

"We’ve got to get our parents to look under the beds, look in the book bags, know who your kids are hanging around, know what your kids are doing in the evening and afternoons," he added.

Barton said nationwide, other communities are struggling with the same issue. Law enforcement urges gun owners, to take guns out of their unlocked cars.

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