Accidental shooting deaths, injuries spike over the holidays

Several factors contribute to increase

Teka Russell sits in East Frankfort Park in Frankfort, Ky., on Saturday, Dec. 10, 2016. She has many special memories with her son, D'nomyar "Denom" Russell, at the park. The 16-year old was fatally shot on Christmas 2014 by his older brother with a new gun he had received hours earlier; the shooting was ruled to be an accident and no charges were filed. Unintentional shootings spike during the holidays, and are more likely to occur than any other time of the year.

W shooting — Teka Russell sits in East Frankfort Park in Frankfort, Ky., on Saturday, Dec. 10, 2016. She has many special memories with her son, D'nomyar "Denom" Russell, at the park. The 16-year old was fatally shot on Christmas 2014 by his older brother with a new gun he had received hours earlier; the shooting was ruled to be an accident and no charges were filed. Unintentional shootings spike during the holidays, and are more likely to occur than any other time of the year.

The happiest of seasons is also among the deadliest: Unintentional shootings spike in the U.S. during the holidays, and are more likely to occur than any other time of the year, according to an analysis by The Associated Press and the USA TODAY Network.In all, 32 people were killed nationwide and 59 injured over the past two years from Christmas Eve through New Year's Day, which the analysis identified as the most likely day for accidental shootings each year. The victims were mostly male and young, with a median age of 19. Nearly half the shootings were self-inflicted, and most occurred in their own homes.The victims are people like Tezlar Wayne Ross, a 20-year-old from Gaffney, South Carolina, who killed himself while playing with a handgun at his home last New Year's Eve.