On shooting injuries

Re: A child or youth shot each day in Ontario, March 28

Readers should know that the claims about shooting injuries reported in this article are considerably exaggerated. It is based on a study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal that makes several questionable assumptions.

First, the types of injuries included are not specified in the news article. Examining the original study shows that “shootings” include relatively small injuries from pellet guns and other air guns ( such as bruising), even airsoft and paintball guns. The article also includes police shootings or accidental discharges.

Second, the article misleadingly refers to “children and youth,” but the age cohorts used in the study are unusual. “Children” are defined as anyone “less than 15,” and “youths” are those “between 15- 24.” Many of those in the younger cohort may not be children as normally defined (usually under 10). Few would call anyone over 19 a “youth.”

The injuries in the younger group (so-called children) are very small, so that almost all data comes from the more adult age group. This is consistent with Statistics Canada data.

According to Statistics Canada, approximately 17 people are unintentionally shot and killed each year in Canada ( most victims are age 20 or older); a child under 10 is rarely shot and killed. Gary Mauser, Institute for Canadian Urban Research Studies, Beedie School of Business, Simon Fraser University