Gun violence has never failed to be a topic of discussion in politics, and a new government study has painted an unsettling picture of its true impact. Boys, teenagers, and blacks were found to be at the highest risk by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC
The report originated from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and focuses on Children and teens through age 17. The data comes from the year 2002 up to 2014 in which the CDC analyzed death certificates and emergency room reports. The results seen below tell the story of why the CDC views gun violence as a public health crisis.
Results & Statistics
Although these results confirm previous studies and information, the findings continue to make clear some startling facts about gun violence and its effects on children. This research is considered to be one of the most comprehensive studies on this topic.
- Almost 6000 nonfatal injuries occur from gunshots and nearly 1,300 deaths yearly
- A majority of the deaths were suicides and homicides, while the nonfatal injuries were assaults
- Annually, the death rate for children is every 2 out of 100,000 (for blacks this number is doubled) and nonfatal gunshot injuries occur for every 8 out of 100,000 children
- Some of the deaths were unintentional and caused from playing with guns, accidentally pulling the trigger. A majority of the victims were bystanders, but some accidentally shot themselves
- As for suicides, they have increased in the years 2007 to 2014, from 325 to 532. A third of the children who died from suicide were depressed and had experienced a recent crisis
- An average of 1,297 children were shot dead each year between 2012 and 2014. 229 were 12 or younger, and 1,068 were 13-17 years old
These findings were published Monday in the Journal of Pediatrics.
Other reports note that unintentional shooting deaths are significantly under-reported. The Associated Press and USA Today Network found that minors died from accidental Shootings at a rate of one every other day during the first six months of 2016. This would cause many of the numbers above to greatly increase if accidental shootings were reported consistently.
Unfortunately, Congress has prohibited the CDC from advocating for gun control using federal money, which there may be a clear need for based on these recent results. On a positive note, the CDC is able to conduct these reports, which they will continue to do to bring light to these issues.
