Houston launches firearm injury dashboard as accidental child shootings rise

HOUSTON - Houston officials on Tuesday unveiled what they describe as the nation’s first real-time firearm injury dashboard, a tool designed to expose trends in gun violence — particularly unintentional shootings involving children. 

New dashboard launched in Houston to expose trends in gun violence

SAFEWatch Houston integrates clinical data from the city’s three Level I trauma centers with emergency response systems to give public health and safety officials a clearer picture of when and where firearm injuries occur. City leaders say the system could help deploy prevention and intervention efforts much like those used for chronic health or environmental risks.

Council Member Abbie Kamin, who spearheaded the project, said the data reveals a troubling pattern: while overall firearm-related trauma visits have declined since 2021, accidental shootings among children and young adults are rising.

What they're saying:

"When a 4-year-old finds an unsecured gun at a friend’s house and pulls the trigger, that child may survive — but will face long-term trauma, and their family and taxpayers face astronomical expenses," Kamin said. "As a city, we may never even know the injury happened. We’re no longer going to accept this as normal."

Kamin said the new data shows a 70% gap between hospital firearm injury cases and police reports, meaning many incidents never enter the criminal justice system and receive no coordinated response.

Dig deeper:

In 2024, Houston’s Level I trauma centers treated 991 firearm injuries, according to the dashboard. More than 200 were unintentional shootings, and about half of those involved children and young adults under 24 years old — roughly one child every week.

SAFEWatch Houston allows users to view total firearm injuries, distinguish between assaults, unintentional shootings and suicide attempts, and break information down by age, demographics and ZIP code. All information is scrubbed and compliant with federal medical privacy rules, officials said.

Local trauma physicians, including representatives from Memorial Hermann, Ben Taub Hospital, Texas Children’s Hospital and UTHealth Houston, joined city leaders at Tuesday’s announcement to highlight how clinical data can drive public-health-based interventions.

Kamin said the dashboard will help identify communities at highest risk and mobilize support teams more quickly. "This is about safety, prevention and community action," she said.

The city plans to use the dashboard to guide outreach programs and education efforts centered on safe firearm storage, a key factor in reducing accidental shootings.

SAFEWatch Houston is now publicly accessible and will be updated on an ongoing basis as participating hospitals submit data.