CHARLOTTE — Accidental child deaths by firearms are heartbreaking tragedies that happen far too often, but are entirely preventable. For the first time, we’re getting a detailed look at how prevalent the issue is.
In April of 2023, Jaxon Truitt was 3 years old, going on 23.
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“He never met a stranger. Like he was awesome, he had his own little personality,” said Paula Layton, Jaxon’s mother. “He was like a little man, even at 3.”
Sadly, he’d never get to be a man.
Police say Jaxon’s father fell asleep in a back room with his gun, unsecured and loaded.
“Tell me what you remember about that day,” Channel 9’s Evan Donovan asked.
“They wouldn’t let me through at first. And I’m like, ‘Hey, I’m the mom of the kids that live here,’” Layton said. “And I kind of had to pull it out of them, and then they told me that Jaxon had gotten into one of his daddy’s firearms and shot himself.”
“I was angry. I was mad. I was devastated. I was heartbroken,” she added.
Layton is not alone in her grief.
Last month, another 3-year-old also shot himself near Lenoir after finding a gun. And in 2023, a pastor’s 2-year-old son shot himself outside this Morganton church after Sunday service.
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These shootings are tragic, no matter where or when they happen. But for the first time, we’re putting some numbers around “how often” they happen.
Channel 9 and our sister stations around the country, along with KFF, conducted a months-long investigation into accidental child gun deaths. We documented more than 2,000 shootings nationwide over the last decade, in which a child under 12 shot themselves or another child.
In North Carolina, it happened at least 95 times in the last 10 years; 37 of those children died.
In South Carolina, at least 80 shootings left 30 children dead.
“It’s just a lot of preventable, unintentional shootings to me,” said Harvard University researcher Sam Fischer.
Fischer says states with child access prevention laws and lower rates of gun ownership tend to have fewer of these shootings.
According to Johns Hopkins University research from 2020, states with strong safe storage policies have seen a 13% reduction in deaths and injuries among children 14 or younger.
Every little bit is crucial, because data from the CDC show that since 2020, shootings have overtaken car accidents in the U.S. as the leading cause of death for kids and teens.
Experienced gun experts say safe storage options are easy and plentiful, from cable locks and trigger locks to gun boxes and gun safes.
“There are many common-sense things that can be done to help prevent these unintentional injuries from happening. And we’ve done this in many other areas with medicines and childproof lids, with swimming pools and lifeguards, with cars, and we can also do it in homes, too,” Fischer said.
Fischer has some advice for parents, whether you have a gun in your home or not.
“I would say that if you’re a parent hearing this and you’re thinking, what can I do? I think talking to other parents about this issue is great. To try to do it in a way that’s not stigmatizing. To try to do it in a way that’s just about safety,” Fischer said.
Layton also thinks about gun safety, a lot. She has to, because Jaxon’s father is also her youngest son’s father.
“He’s not a bad father. He’s not. And he didn’t mean for this to happen. It was an accident, but it was also a preventable accident,” Paula said.
“I just wonder how you move forward when something like this happens. How did you?” Evan asked.
“I just kind of pushed through it. I mean, I’m not gonna lie to you, I’m not the same person that I was three years ago. Um, you just, you got to keep going. I have two more kids that I have to keep moving on for, and life doesn’t just stop when something like that happens. Kind of wish it did sometimes, you know, but it doesn’t. So, just got to keep pushing forward. And Jaxon wouldn’t want me to, you know, give up,” Layton said.
Richard Truitt Jr., Jaxon’s father, was charged with involuntary manslaughter and improper storage of a firearm. He pleaded guilty in 2024 and was sentenced to 36 months of probation.
Preventing accidental gun deaths
According to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study of 1,261 unintentional firearm deaths of children, about 73% of the guns involved were loaded while stored, and 76% of them were unlocked.
The CDC says the most common areas where firearms were found included nightstands, underneath mattresses or pillows, on top of a bed, on top of a shelf or inside a closet, and inside a car.
As Fischer mentioned, tools like cable locks, trigger locks, and gun safes can help prevent accidental discharges or keep kids from getting access to guns.
In Mecklenburg County, you can get a free lockbox from the Office of Violence Prevention and Public Health. Supplies are still available, and you can get one at the following locations:
- Davidson Police Department, Davidson
- Valerie C. Woodard Community Resource Center, Charlotte
- A Brighter Day Outreach, Charlotte
- CharlotteEAST
- Northwest Public Health Department
- Southeast Public Health Department
- Pine View Community Center
- Leadership Martial Arts (South Charlotte)
You can also look up current pickup locations and request a lockbox at this link.
In addition to firearm storage and locks, experts also recommend keeping ammunition in a separate container that’s away from the firearm.