Gun deaths among children

Gun deaths among children increased 50% in two years, reaching a high of 2,590 deaths in 2021. Black kids are about 5 times more likely than white and Hispanic kids to die from guns.

Gun deaths among U.S. kids (under 18 years old)

1999-2022

Source: CDC/Wonder. Notes: 2022 data is provisional. Gun deaths are identified using ICD–10 underlying cause-of-death codes: U01.4; W32-W34; X72-X74; X93-X95; Y22-Y24; Y35. AN= Alaska Native.

Firearms are now the leading cause of death for children in the U.S.¹ Gun deaths among children have increased by 50%, reaching a high of 2,590 deaths in 2021. Homicides were the largest category of gun deaths among children, making up 60% of the total in 2021. Suicides made up 32%, accidents were 5%, and other incidents were 3%.²

Racial disparities persist in gun deaths among children. Black children were victims in 46% of all gun deaths among children, despite making up just 14% of the child population in the U.S. They are 5 times more likely to die from firearms than white children. Types of gun deaths among children also differed by race. The majority of gun deaths among white children were suicides (66%), with homicides making up a much smaller share (24%). In contrast, 86% of gun deaths among Black children were homicides, and just 9% were suicides.

Compared to its peer nations, the U.S. has a disproportionately high rate of gun deaths among children. The U.S. is the only nation to have firearm deaths in the top 4 leading causes of death among children, let alone be the number one cause of death.³ Among the U.S. and peer nations, the U.S. accounts for 97% of all child firearm deaths, while making up just 46% of the total child population. To reduce firearm fatalities among children, experts suggest that states implement new laws, including universal background checks, extreme risk protection or “red flag laws,” and child access prevention or “CAP” laws.^4,5,6

1. “Preventing Gun Violence, the Leading Cause of Childhood Death”. NIH. July, 2022. https://www.nichd.nih.gov/about/org/od/directors_corner/prev_updates/gun-violence-July2022

2. “Gun deaths among U.S. children and teens rose 50% in two years”. Gramlich. Pew Research Center. April, 2023. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/04/06/gun-deaths-among-us-kids-rose-50-percent-in-two-years/

3. “Child and Teen Firearm Mortality in the U.S. and Peer Countries”. McGough, Amin, Panchal, and Cox. KFF. July, 2023. https://www.kff.org/global-health-policy/issue-brief/child-and-teen-firearm-mortality-in-the-u-s-and-peer-countries/

4. “State Gun Laws and Pediatric Firearm-Related Mortality”. Goyal, Badolato, Patel, Iqbal, Parikh, and McCarter. American Academy of Pediatrics. August, 2019. https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/144/2/e20183283/38493/State-Gun-Laws-and-Pediatric-Firearm-Related?autologincheck=redirected

5. “Firearm-Related Injuries and Deaths in Children and Youth: Injury Prevention and Harm Reduction” Lee, Fleegler, Goyal, Doh, Laraque-Arena, and Hoffman. American Academy of Pediatrics. https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/150/6/e2022060070/189686/Firearm-Related-Injuries-and-Deaths-in-Children 

6. “U.S. Gun Violence in 2021: An Accounting of a Public health Crisis”. Davis, Kim, and Crifasi. Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions. June, 2023. https://publichealth.jhu.edu/sites/default/files/2023-06/2023-june-cgvs-u-s-gun-violence-in-2021.pdf