美国近日又发生一起儿童意外接触枪支酿成的悲剧。当地时间14日，美国阿肯色州一名5岁幼儿在家玩枪，不慎射杀了他8岁的哥哥。
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据美联社当地时间7月15日报道，警方消息称，这家人住在阿肯色州小石城以南大约65公里处的派恩布拉夫市，枪击悲剧发生于14日下午。警方赶到现场后，发现8岁男孩已无生命体征，经法医鉴定宣布其当场死亡。
警方推断，由于家中的枪没有被妥善保管，5岁弟弟拿到后玩耍时意外射中8岁哥哥。
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A 5-year-old Arkansas boy fatally shot his 8-year-old brother in what investigators believe was an accidental shooting with an unsecured gun, authorities said.
The 8-year-old was found unresponsive Thursday afternoon at a home in Pine Bluff, about 65 kilometers south of Little Rock, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators believe the shooting was accidental, the sheriff’s office said.
“这是一桩本可以避免的悲剧。我怎么强调都不为过：枪支要保管好，任何时候都不能让儿童接触到，”警长拉斐特·伍兹在接受采访时说，“枪支拥有者如果不把枪保管好，那么距离家中发生这类悲剧就只有一步之遥。”
“This is a tragic incident that could have been avoided. I can’t emphasize strongly enough that guns need to be well secured and kept out of the hands and away from children at all times,” Sheriff Lafayette Woods Jr. said. “Gun owners that do not properly secure their firearms are just one split second away from one of these tragedies happening in their home.”
警长伍兹表示，这名5岁的男孩和他的其他四个兄弟姐妹将暂时由他们的一位亲戚监护，等待接受调查。目前，有关部门正在判断是否会提起刑事指控。
Woods told the Pine Bluff Commercial that the 5-year-old and four other siblings will be placed in the custody of a relative pending an investigation.
The sheriff said authorities were working to determine whether any criminal charges will be filed.
美国今年已至少发生
126起儿童意外枪击事件
频繁发生的枪支暴力事件，已成为美国无法摆脱的梦魇。这其中不乏由儿童意外接触枪支导致的悲剧。
当地时间6月26日，佛罗里达州埃斯坎比亚县一家汽车旅馆内，一名8岁男孩玩父亲的手枪，不料走火，子弹击穿一名12个月大的女婴后又击中一名两岁女童，造成女婴死亡、两岁女童受伤。
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当地时间5月26日，佛罗里达州奥兰治县一名两岁男童在家中发现一把枪，不慎开枪打死了26岁的父亲。
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当地时间3月29日，密苏里州圣路易斯市两个孩子在家玩枪，10岁弟弟不慎开枪射杀12岁哥哥。
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CNN报道称，根据美国非营利组织“为每个城镇带来枪支安全”（Everytown for Gun Safety）的数据，截至5月28日，美国今年至少发生了126起儿童意外枪击事件，导致55人死亡，78人受伤。 去年，美国发生了至少392起儿童意外枪击事件，导致163人死亡，248人受伤。
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“Everytown for Gun Safety”网统计数据
There have been at least 126 unintentional shootings by children in the US this year-- taking the lives of 55 people and wounding 78 others, according to the nonprofit Everytown for Gun Safety. Last year saw at least 392 unintentional shootings by children, which resulted in 163 people killed and 248 injured.
美国约三分之一有孩子的家庭都有枪
“为每个城镇带来枪支安全”网站显示，在美国，枪支是导致儿童和青少年(1至19岁)死亡的主要原因。
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Firearms are the leading cause of death for children and teens (ages 1 to 19) in the U.S.
美国约有460万名儿童生活的家中至少有一把上膛或未上锁的枪支；
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4.6 million American children live in homes with at least one gun that is loaded and unlocked.
更可怕的是，在过去的十年里，美国儿童和青少年使用枪支的自杀率上升了59%。超过80%的儿童自杀时使用的是家庭成员的枪支。
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Over the past decade, the firearm suicide rate among children and teens has increased by 59 percent. More than 80 percent of child suicides involve a gun that belong to a family member.
儿童保护基金会（Children's Defense Fund）称，美国大约三分之一有孩子的家庭都有枪。如果家中有枪支，使用枪支自杀的可能性会增加3—5倍，出现意外事故的可能性也会增加4倍。换言之，家中的枪支更有可能伤害家人而不是保护他们。
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美国大约三分之一有孩子的家庭都有枪，图源：美国儿科学会AAP
A third of households with children have a gun. Guns in the home are more likely to endanger than protect loved ones. The presence of a gun in the home makes the likelihood of homicide three times higher, suicide three to five times higher, and accidental death four times higher.
美国儿科学会（AAP）认为，保护孩子免受伤害最安全有效的办法就是让家庭中没有枪支。但目前看来，这样的倡议、倡导在美国似乎有些“寸步难行”。
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) believes that “The absence of guns from children’s homes and communities is the most reliable and effective measure to prevent firearm-related injuries in children and adolescents.”
综合来源：美联社，美国广播公司，央视网，CNN，Everytown for Gun Safety网，Children's Defense Fund网
