The deaths are appalling and bleak — and frequent enough that they can begin to feel like they are an inescapable affliction of American life.

They happen all over the country, in a variety of settings and circumstances. But they all end the same: a young child mortally wounded by a gun.

Consider what happened in the first 11 days of November: a 9-year-old boy was targeted and shot dead by gang members, a 6-year-old boy was killed by police in Louisiana, a 5-year-old Ohio boy was struck by street gunfire that tore through his home, a 9-year-old boy shot himself in Detroit, and 2-year-old boy was fatally shot in the face while he played with his twin brother in Georgia.

That sample is small, but it reflects the many ways firearms kill America's youngest citizens. Many are accidental — victims of mistaken gunshots, often the result of negligence by adults who fail to keep their weapons locked away. Others are murdered, or struck by gunshots that were not intended for them.

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/recent-shootings-reflect-grim-frequency-child-gun-deaths-n462311