Mass shootings turn heads and capture media headlines, but in truth they represent less than 1% of all shootings in America. Despite increasing recognition that firearm violence is an epidemic, we fail to acknowledge the disproportionate contribution of single-victim firearm injuries to the overall burden of gun violence.
“Everyday” firearm violence affects older white men with suicidal intentions and the most marginalized people in America: the Black and brown. This is the leading cause of premature death for Black men and the second leading cause of premature death for Latino men and Black women. Most of their stories don’t make the news.
A Google search for “Chicago news” on a recent uneventful Saturday evening led to a headline that read, “Chicago shootings: 5 juveniles among 22 shot in weekend violence across city.” The details were reported in typical fashion: where the victim was shot, what hospital they were taken to and whether they survived. After that Saturday, there were no more headlines for those victims, no follow-up stories; they were yesterday’s news.
