NORTH FORT MYERS Lee County residents wait hours for D-SNAP assistance The supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP) is at the Lee Civic Center all weekend, ready to help southwest Florida.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA First eaglet hatches in famous SWFL eagle nest Welcome E24! The third eaglet from the nest of M15 and F23 has hatched according to the Southwest Florida eagle camera.
lehigh acres LCSO: Lehigh Acres shooting investigation underway The Lee County Sheriff’s Office responded to a shooting in Lehigh Acres early Saturday morning.
Rock for Equality: SWFL non-profit hosts benefit concert for Palestine A Southwest Florida non-profit hosted a benefit concert on Friday night to help with humanitarian aid in Palestine.
Warm, breezy Saturday with a few showers possible The Weather Authority is forecasting a breezy, warm weekend in store across Southwest Florida, with the chance of a few showers, particularly on Saturday.
CAPE CORAL Active investigation underway in South Cape Coral Cape Coral police are investigating at a home on Southwest 49th Terrace in South Cape Coral early Saturday morning.
16 transported after 2 airboats crash in Collier County According to the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, two airboats crashed south of U.S. 41 east between mile markers 74 and 75, leaving well over a dozen people injured.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA New bill filed: Auto shop and law enforcement must work together to solve hit-and-run crashes There could be new detectives on the block, located in your nearest auto shop. A new state bill aims at trying to stop hit-and-run drivers from getting away.
CAPE CORAL New leash on life; Cape Coral shelter dog beats cancer with drug being tested for humans A drug now being studied in human trials to kill cancerous tumors, is already approved and helping animals.
CAPE CORAL City of Cape Coral planning a new interchange with I-75 The city of Cape Coral is in the early stages of planning a new interchange with I-75, an idea that has been discussed for more than a decade.
Tracking invasive species after hurricanes Hurricanes Helene and Milton didn’t just bring wind and rain, they brought new threats to southwest Florida’s ecosystem.
PUNTA GORDA Woman in Punta Gorda shooting charged with 2nd degree murder A woman in a homicide investigation on Nasturtium Drive in Punta Gorda has been charged with 2nd-degree murder.
Lee County mother continuing fight to get children a bus stop The school district already told her she lives too close to the school to qualify for a bus route but she has not given up.
NORTH NAPLES Grant Thornton Invitational returns to Tiburon Golf Club Stars on the PGA and LPGA Tours are back in Southwest Florida for the Grant Thornton Invitational at Tiburon Golf Club.
FORT MYERS Black Flag brings classic punk energy to The Ranch in Fort Myers Legendary punk band Black Flag made their mark in Southwest Florida during the Fort Myers stop of their “First Four Years” tour.
NORTH FORT MYERS Lee County residents wait hours for D-SNAP assistance The supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP) is at the Lee Civic Center all weekend, ready to help southwest Florida.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA First eaglet hatches in famous SWFL eagle nest Welcome E24! The third eaglet from the nest of M15 and F23 has hatched according to the Southwest Florida eagle camera.
lehigh acres LCSO: Lehigh Acres shooting investigation underway The Lee County Sheriff’s Office responded to a shooting in Lehigh Acres early Saturday morning.
Rock for Equality: SWFL non-profit hosts benefit concert for Palestine A Southwest Florida non-profit hosted a benefit concert on Friday night to help with humanitarian aid in Palestine.
Warm, breezy Saturday with a few showers possible The Weather Authority is forecasting a breezy, warm weekend in store across Southwest Florida, with the chance of a few showers, particularly on Saturday.
CAPE CORAL Active investigation underway in South Cape Coral Cape Coral police are investigating at a home on Southwest 49th Terrace in South Cape Coral early Saturday morning.
16 transported after 2 airboats crash in Collier County According to the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, two airboats crashed south of U.S. 41 east between mile markers 74 and 75, leaving well over a dozen people injured.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA New bill filed: Auto shop and law enforcement must work together to solve hit-and-run crashes There could be new detectives on the block, located in your nearest auto shop. A new state bill aims at trying to stop hit-and-run drivers from getting away.
CAPE CORAL New leash on life; Cape Coral shelter dog beats cancer with drug being tested for humans A drug now being studied in human trials to kill cancerous tumors, is already approved and helping animals.
CAPE CORAL City of Cape Coral planning a new interchange with I-75 The city of Cape Coral is in the early stages of planning a new interchange with I-75, an idea that has been discussed for more than a decade.
Tracking invasive species after hurricanes Hurricanes Helene and Milton didn’t just bring wind and rain, they brought new threats to southwest Florida’s ecosystem.
PUNTA GORDA Woman in Punta Gorda shooting charged with 2nd degree murder A woman in a homicide investigation on Nasturtium Drive in Punta Gorda has been charged with 2nd-degree murder.
Lee County mother continuing fight to get children a bus stop The school district already told her she lives too close to the school to qualify for a bus route but she has not given up.
NORTH NAPLES Grant Thornton Invitational returns to Tiburon Golf Club Stars on the PGA and LPGA Tours are back in Southwest Florida for the Grant Thornton Invitational at Tiburon Golf Club.
FORT MYERS Black Flag brings classic punk energy to The Ranch in Fort Myers Legendary punk band Black Flag made their mark in Southwest Florida during the Fort Myers stop of their “First Four Years” tour.
Credit: WINK News. New data released Monday by the advocacy group Everytown for Gun Safety finds that unintentional shootings by children rose 31% between March and December of 2020 from the same period the previous year. The data, which were shared in advance with CBS News, also shows that the grim trend continued into the first half of 2021, with a child involved in an unintentional shooting nearly once a day. Researchers at the organization believe a surge in nationwide gun sales and more kids at home because of COVID lockdowns contributed to the increase. The group’s data shows most unintentional shootings by kids occur at a home. The data provides a broader picture of the tragic incidents since 2015, when the group began tracking the shootings based on media reports. The group’s #NotAnAccident index shows that from 2015 through 2020, there were at least 2,070 unintentional shootings by children under 18, resulting in 765 deaths and 1,366 injuries. Between March and December of 2019, Everytown found 255 incidents resulting in 169 injuries and 98 deaths. A year later, during the height of the lockdowns, the group recorded 313 incidents, resulting in 198 injuries and 128 deaths. For the first six months of 2021, the group found 186 incidents, the highest for that time period. At that pace, incidents in 2021 would nearly top the prior peak of 383 in 2017. “The good news from this heartbreak is that these incidents are largely preventable,” said Sarah Burd-Sharps, Everytown’s director of research. Burd-Sharps said that with a broader understanding of when and where the incidents are happening, and to whom, “we can then double down on keeping these guns securely stored, and doing that saves lives.” The research shows that boys make up the majority of unintentional shooters — 83%– and other children are overwhelmingly more likely to be the victims of unintentional shootings by kids (91%). It also shows the incidents are more likely to happen in states with lax gun storage laws, and that the incidents are more likely to occur in a home. The shootings are more likely to occur during time periods when children are home from school, such as weekends or holidays. Burd-Sharps said school closures during the pandemic likely contributed to the uptick in unintentional shootings seen in 2020. Teens aged 14 to 17 were most likely to be both shooters or victims in unintentional shootings, followed by pre-school children five and under. Young children and toddlers lack the understanding of the potential consequences of picking up a gun – – “it’s just a completely innocent and ultimately incredibly tragic situation,” Burd-Sharps said. Many teens who fired unintentionally were playing with a gun with friends and didn’t know the weapon was loaded. Burd-Sharps said that even if gun-owning parents securely store their guns at home, many unintentional shootings happen in a home the child is visiting. “It’s not enough to just store guns securely in your home and talk to your children about guns – you also need to ask about guns in any home a child will visit,” Burd-Sharps said, directing parents to resources available online through Everytown’s BeSmart public education program. Burd-Sharps stressed the importance of secure gun storage. The American Academy of Pediatrics says the safest way to prevent child unintentional shootings is to have no guns at all in the home. Absent that, they recommend storing guns unloaded and locked, with ammunition kept in a separate place.