A South Carolina mother, Cora Lyn Bush, was shot and killed by her three-year-old son, authorities confirmed. Officers believe the gun was unsecured and the boy fired it accidentally. 

According to the Spartanburg County Coroner’s office, Cora Lyn Bush passed away at around 9:45 am on Wednesday in a hospital in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

Spartanburg deputies responded to a report about a shooting incident at her home at about 7:45 am on Wednesday. They found Cora Bush, her three-year-old, and Cora’s mother, in the house.

Soon after the emergency team transported Bush, her mother began to tell the police what had happened. In a statement, the police said that her account of the shooting matched the evidence found in the house and the victim’s injury.

The statement further says that although the police investigation remains active, everything points to the narrative that the child gained access to the unsecured firearm, which unfortunately led to the mother being accidentally shot and later dying in the hospital.

Every Town Research, an American organization committed to ending gun violence, conducted recent research. According to their data, there were 194 accidental shootings by children in the US just this year alone. Eighty-two people died from the accidental shootings, while 123 others were injured.

In their analysis, they confirmed that every year, hundreds of children access firearms in the US and accidentally shoot themselves or someone else.

The organization collects information and data from news reports about minors who unintentionally fire a gun and harm themselves or someone else. They collect information about the ages of the shooter and victim, type of firearm, location of the incident, and the date it happened.

They raise awareness about gun violence affecting minors by compiling reports that make people understand why these unintentional child shootings happen and how to prevent them.

The “Be Smart” campaign was launched by Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense to raise awareness of safe gun storage and how people can save their children’s lives by storing their guns unloaded and locked and keeping the ammunition separate.

Data collected from 2015 to 2022 showed that there were 2,070 accidental shootings by children and 765 people lost their lives. The number of shootings became alarming in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. From March to December 2020, almost 400 kids unintentionally fired guns, and at least 125 children aged five and below found loaded guns and shot themselves or others.