Read more.
BY THE NUMBERSShooting victims 18 or younger in crimes in Chattanooga2005: 12 (10 black, 2 white)2006: 11 (9 black, 1 white 1 unknown)2007: 11 (10 black, 1 white)2008: 21 (all black)2009: 18 (all black)2010: 23 (22 black, 1 white)2011: 17 (all black)2012 to date: 8 (all black)Source: Chattanooga Police DepartmentPeople treated at Erlanger for gunshot wounds to the head2007: 172008: 252009: 232010: 28Source: Erlanger hospital
Keoshia Ford is one of eight children 18 or younger in Chattanooga who have been shot this year as the result of a crime, according to police records. All are black.
That’s no surprise, according to a study on race disparities in firearms injuries and outcomes among Tennessee children. The study was released this year by Vanderbilt University.
Originally published in the Journal of Pediatric Surgery, the study looked at 188 cases in Middle Tennessee. While 58 percent of those injured were white, blacks were over-represented by 21/2 times, the report said. Sixty-seven injuries were the result of assaults, and the median age was 13.