Firearm Deaths - Children

Firearm Deaths - Children in United States

United States

Gun violence is a serious public health issue. The United States is the only nation among its peers where firearm deaths are the leading cause of child mortality, and they are steadily increasing. Firearm-related deaths are not among the top five leading causes of death in children in any other peer country except for Canada, and the per capita firearm death rate for U.S. children is 9.5 times higher than Canada’s rate. In 2021, 4,733 U.S. children and teens were killed by firearms. The most common cause of child firearm death — accounting for 62% of all cases in 2021 — was violent assault, followed by suicide, which accounted for 33%; 4% of child firearm deaths were unintentional.

Approximately 14% of mass shootings occur in schools. Survivors of school shootings undergo declines in health and engage in more risky behaviors. Exposure to gun violence can increase the likelihood of antidepressant use and suicide risk among youth.

According to America’s Health Rankings data, the firearm death rate is higher among: 

• Children ages 15-19 compared with children ages 1-14.
• Black children compared with Asian children. Black children are also more likely to be exposed to firearm violence compared with white children.
• Males compared with females. 
• Children who live in gun-owning households where firearms are not securely locked and separated from ammunition, compared with children in households with firearms that are stored more safely.

Firearm deaths are preventable, and there is a lot that can be done at the individual, community and policy levels to reduce the firearm death rate.

It is safest to not keep any guns in the home at all, but there are other steps gun owners can take to improve household gun safety, like: 

• Making sure all guns inside the house are unloaded and locked away securely.
• Keeping all lock combinations, codes and storage keys appropriately hidden, especially from children.
• Never leaving children unsupervised in a home with a gun.

Communities can offer resources and support to help resolve conflicts before they escalate to gun violence, and can partner with public health and public safety agencies to examine local trends in gun violence to generate solutions. State-level policy recommendations include strengthening firearm legislation, particularly through background checks and permit laws.

Improving access to mental health resources can help prevent suicide. The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline provides free, confidential support for people in distress 24/7, everywhere in the U.S. Their website offers additional forms of crisis support, and the previous National Suicide Prevention Lifeline number (1-800-273-TALK(8255)) is still active and usable.

Healthy People 2030 has several violence prevention objectives related to firearms, including: 

• Reducing firearm-related deaths. 
• Reducing gun carrying among adolescents. 
• Reducing nonfatal firearm-related injuries.

Davis, Ari, Lisa Geller, Rose Kim, Silvia Villarreal, Alexander McCourt, Janel Cubbage, and Cassandra Crifasi. 2022. “A Year in Review: 2020 Gun Deaths in the U.S.” Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions. https://publichealth.jhu.edu/sites/default/files/2022-05/2020-gun-deaths-in-the-us-4-28-2022-b.pdf.

Grossman, David C. 2005. “Gun Storage Practices and Risk of Youth Suicide and Unintentional Firearm Injuries.” JAMA 293 (6): 707. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.293.6.707.

Lee, Lois K., Eric W. Fleegler, Caitlin Farrell, Elorm Avakame, Saranya Srinivasan, David Hemenway, and Michael C. Monuteaux. 2017. “Firearm Laws and Firearm Homicides: A Systematic Review.” JAMA Internal Medicine 177 (1): 106. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.2016.7051.

Martin, Rachel, Sonali Rajan, Faizah Shareef, Kristal C. Xie, Kalice A. Allen, Marc Zimmerman, and Jonathan Jay. 2022. “Racial Disparities in Child Exposure to Firearm Violence Before and During COVID-19.” American Journal of Preventive Medicine 63 (2): 204–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2022.02.007.

Soni, Aparna, and Erdal Tekin. 2022. “Mass Shootings In The United States: Population Health Impacts And Policy Levers.” Health Affairs Health Policy Brief. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. https://www.healthaffairs.org/do/10.1377/hpb20220824.260250/full/.