Using a mortality database from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the study published Monday in the AAP's journal Pediatrics found that 4,752 children died from gun-related injuries in 2021 — the latest year for which data is available, up from 4,368 in 2020 and 3,390 in 2019.
Gun violence is the number one cause of death for children in the US as of 2020.
People pray after a shooting at Oxford High School in Michigan, US in December 2021. Photo: Reuters
The study was released as Tennessee lawmakers held a special session on public safety following the Nashville school shooting earlier this year that left three children and three educators dead.
“I never imagined I would be taking care of so many children with bullet wounds,” said Annie Andrews, a South Carolina pediatrician and gun violence prevention researcher.
Further research shows that black children account for about 67% of gun homicides while white children account for about 78% of gun suicides.
Iman Omer, a senior at Vanderbilt University in Nashville and an anti-gun violence advocate with Students Demand Action, said the study’s findings were devastating. “Every year, I know that 128 children and teens in Tennessee die from gun violence,” Omer said.
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has asked lawmakers to strengthen so-called red flag laws aimed at keeping guns out of the hands of people deemed a threat.
Mai Van (according to Reuters)
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