Teen injured in accidental shooting in northeast Wichita, police say

A shooting Wednesday night in northeast Wichita sent a 14-year-old boy to a hospital with a serious but non-life-threatening gunshot wound to his upper body, police said on Thursday.

“Through the investigation, it is believed an individual accidentally shot the 14-year-old, causing his injuries,” Officer Charley Davidson said in a news release. “A lack of cooperation in this investigation has affected investigators from learning all the details of this case.”

Police were called at around 7:15 p.m. on Wednesday to a shooting at a home in the 1300 block of North Oliver.

“This was not a random incident, and the investigation is ongoing,” Davidson said.

Anyone with information about the shooting can call Wichita police detectives at 316-268-4407, through Crime Stoppers at 316-267-2111 or with the See Something, Say Something hotline at 316-519-2282.

Police have reported an uptick in accidental shootings from last year.

Earlier this week, Davidson said the department has classified 26 reports as accidental firearms cases this year, up from 17 in 2019. The classification is used if a person is injured or killed as a result of an accidental gun discharge, he said.

It’s not clear exactly how many accidental shootings the city has seen this year. Many unintentional discharges either aren’t reported accurately or at all to police due to embarrassment or fear of criminal repercussions.

At least one Wichita death this year is attributable to an accidental shooting. In September, a 9-year-old inadvertently shot 18-year-old Jeremy Retana in the head after the child’s father left a loaded gun unattended while they were in the care of a babysitter.

Additionally, Wesley Healthcare has reported an increase in child patients with gunshots wounds.

Last week, the healthcare system announced a partnership with the Wichita Police Department to launch the “Guns & Kids Don’t Mix” initiative. Wesley Healthcare usually averages four child patients with gunshot wounds a year but reported 14 patients with gunshot wounds under the age of 16 during last week’s announcement.

All but one were accidental or self-inflicted, according to Wesley Healthcare.

Contributing: Amy Renee Leiker of The Eagle