Firearm deaths have surpassed car accidents as the leading cause of death among American youth, with official data showing a sharp rise in gun-related homicides, such as the killing of 19 children at a school in Texas.
In all, 4,368 children and adolescents under the age of 19 died from gunshot wounds in 2020, a rate of 5.4 per 100,000, according to a control panel from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Murders accounted for nearly two-thirds of all gun deaths.
By comparison, there were 4,036 motor vehicle-related deaths, the previous leading cause of death in this age group.
The gap has narrowed as road safety measures have improved over the decades, while gun deaths have increased.
The newly updated CDC panel shows that nearly 30% of deaths were suicides, just over 3% were unintentional, and 2% were unintentional.
Deaths disproportionately affected children and adolescents of color, who were four times more likely to die than other children.
Meanwhile boys were six times more likely to die from a gun than girls.
Source: France24
