A record number of U.S. children were killed by firearms in 2021, new research has found.
A study published in the American Academy of Pediatrics reported Monday that gun deaths among children rose again in 2021 to a total of 4,752, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). That figure surpassed the previous high set in 2020.
“US pediatric firearm deaths increased in 2021, above the spike in 2020, with worsening disparities,” the study concluded. “Implementation of prevention strategies and policies among communities at highest risk is critical.”
The study noted that between 2018 and 2021, there was a 41.6 percent increase in the pediatric firearm death rate across the United States. From 2020 to 2021, there was nearly a 9 percent increase in the death rate.
About 64 percent of the 2021 gun deaths were the result of homicides, nearly 30 percent were caused by suicides and 3.5 percent resulted from unintentional injury. The study noted that “firearms remained the leading cause of death among children and adolescents compared with other injury-related causes of death” in 2021.
Older adolescents ages 15-19 accounted for more than 82 percent of firearm deaths in 2021. Gun-related homicides among young children also increased that year, climbing 66 percent among those ages 0-9 compared to 2018.
Males accounted for the majority of gun deaths in 2021, as well as the majority of homicides caused by firearms. They comprised nearly 85 percent of all pediatric firearm mortalities and 84 percent of the gun homicides of children during the year.
“Despite the documented dominance of male deaths by firearm, the firearm mortality death rate is increasing in both males and females, demonstrating a concerning upward trend of firearm deaths overall,” the study states.
The study also looked at racial disparities among the gun deaths, finding that the death rate for firearm homicides was 11 times higher for Black children compared with white children.
“Racial disparities in firearm mortalities have also worsened significantly, with Black children accounting for half of firearm deaths in 2021 and exhibiting the greatest increase in death rate from 2020 to 2021,” the study reads. “This is consistent with previous data demonstrating Black Americans have represented the majority of those hospitalized with firearm injury.”