Guns are killing more U.S. children. Shooting survivors can face lifelong challenges

A twisting scar left behind after a bullet entered Aaron Hunter's brain on June 22, 2023. After emergency surgery at Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida, the surgeon warned that the 13-year-old's ability to walk, see and speak could be affected. He spent weeks in the hospital followed by eight months of physical and occupational therapy. (Stephanie Colombini/WUSF)

Aaron Hunter was 13 when he woke up in the hospital after being shot in the head while playing with friends. The shooting happened June 22, 2023 in Sarasota, Florida. The bullet entered just above his right ear and lodged halfway into his brain.

He doesn't recall the shooting, or even remember being around a gun, he said. "All I remember is I was picking mangoes with a friend, and then I went to another friend's house, and then I remember waking up in the hospital."