ATLANTA — Between 2019 and 2021, the number of children and teens killed by bullets increased 50% in the United States, according to a national research study.
The number and rate of children and teens killed by gunfire in 2021 were both higher than at any point since at least 1999, the earliest year for which information about those younger than 18 is available in the CDC’s mortality database, the Pew Research Center determined. The majority of gun deaths among children were homicides, the study found.
“The rise in gun deaths among children and teens is part of a broader recent increase in firearm deaths among Americans overall,” Pew researchers stated. “In 2021, there were 48,830 gun deaths among Americans of all ages — by far the highest yearly total on record and up 23% from the 39,707 recorded in 2019, before the pandemic.”
