Firearm deaths among U.S. children hit a new record high

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Firearm deaths among children in the U.S. hit a new record high in 2021, according to a study published Monday in the journal Pediatrics.
The study, based on government data, points to the worsening of an already distressing trend, after guns became the leading cause of death for children for the first time in 2020. There were 4,752 pediatric gun deaths in 2021, or a rate of 5.8 per 100,000 people — an 8.8% increase from the year before, the study found.

Between 2018 and 2021, the pediatric gun death rate rose 41.5%. “Spikes in gun purchasing during the pandemic were substantial, resulting in roughly 30 million children living in households with firearms, a known risk factor for pediatric firearm injury,” the researchers wrote. Gun deaths among children have “disproportionately affected communities of color,” said the study, which is based on data from the the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Nearly 50% of children who died by firearms in 2021 were Black, and Black children “accounted for the greatest increase in death rate” from 2020 to 2021, per the study.

“With respect to firearm homicides, in 2021, the death rate was 11 times higher for Black children compared with white children … representing the largest disparity gap in the 4 years of this study.”