While guns have now become the leading cause of death for America's children, this heartbreaking statistic is just one facet of a relentless national crisis that saw nearly 50,000 lives lost to firearms in a single recent year.
Key Takeaways
- In 2021, the United States recorded 48,830 gun-related deaths, marking a 23% increase from 2019
- The US firearm mortality rate reached 14.8 per 100,000 in 2021, the highest since 1993
- Firearms were the leading cause of death for US children and teens (ages 1-19) in 2020, accounting for 20% of all child fatalities
- In 2021, 55% of US gun deaths were suicides (26,328), 43% homicides (20,958), 2% undetermined
- Firearm homicides rose from 14,414 in 2019 to 20,958 in 2021, a 45% increase
- Black males accounted for 52% of US gun homicide victims in 2021 despite being 6% of population
- In 2021, 60% of Black youth homicide victims (ages 1-24) died by gun, rate 33.0 per 100,000
- In 2021, gun suicides totaled 26,328, 54% of all gun deaths and 55% of all suicides
- US gun suicide rate was 7.5 per 100,000 in 2021, up 2% from 2020
- 55% of US suicides in 2021 involved firearms (26,328 of 48,183)
- Accidental gun deaths totaled 537 in 2021, 1% of gun deaths
- Children under 18 suffered 268 accidental gun deaths from 2015-2019
- 82% of unintentional gun deaths are self-inflicted or by family/friends
- Mass shootings (4+ killed) totaled 173 in 2023, per Gun Violence Archive
- From 1982-2023, 448 deaths in K-12 school shootings
Gun deaths in the United States are tragically high and continue to rise each year.
Accidental Gun Deaths
- Accidental gun deaths totaled 537 in 2021, 1% of gun deaths
- Children under 18 suffered 268 accidental gun deaths from 2015-2019
- 82% of unintentional gun deaths are self-inflicted or by family/friends
- Black children 5x more likely to die in accidental gun incidents than white children
- From 2015-2021, 1,166 accidental gun deaths among 0-17 year olds
- Handguns involved in 77% of accidental gun deaths in 2021
- States without child access prevention laws had 4x accidental youth gun deaths
- 40% of accidental gun deaths occur in homes with unlocked guns
- Males 88% of accidental gun deaths in 2021 (473 deaths)
- Accidental gun death rate 0.2 per 100,000 in 2021, stable since 2010
- 50 accidental gun deaths among children 0-14 in 2021
- Firearms #1 cause of accidental death for kids 5-14
- 75% of child accidental shootings by siblings or friends under 6
- Accidental gun deaths rose 17% during 2020 COVID lockdowns
- South Carolina accidental gun death rate 0.4 per 100,000 in 2021, highest
- 90% of accidental gun deaths preventable with safe storage
- Toddlers 0-4: 64 accidental gun deaths 2015-2019
- Rural accidental gun death rates 2x urban
- Gun violence archive recorded 649 unintentional shootings in 2022, 122 fatal
- In 2021, 20% of accidental gun deaths were by children under 6
Accidental Gun Deaths Interpretation
It’s a grim lottery we’re running in our own homes, where unlocked guns and lax laws turn playdates into preventable tragedies, and the winning numbers are written in the obituaries of children.
Gun Hicides
- In 2021, 60% of Black youth homicide victims (ages 1-24) died by gun, rate 33.0 per 100,000
Gun Hicides Interpretation
Here is a bleak math: for Black youth in America, the leading cause of becoming a homicide statistic is a bullet, a fact as common as it is catastrophic.
Gun Homicides
- In 2021, 55% of US gun deaths were suicides (26,328), 43% homicides (20,958), 2% undetermined
- Firearm homicides rose from 14,414 in 2019 to 20,958 in 2021, a 45% increase
- Black males accounted for 52% of US gun homicide victims in 2021 despite being 6% of population
- In 2022, there were 20,200 gun homicides in the US, per CDC provisional data
- Gun homicides comprised 75% of all US homicides in 2021
- Youth (ages 1-17) gun homicide victims increased 77% from 2019 to 2021 to 2,590 deaths
- Louisiana's gun homicide rate was 19.0 per 100,000 in 2021, highest in US
- Missouri gun homicide rate: 11.5 per 100,000 in 2021
- 85% of mass public shootings from 1999-2021 involved firearms obtained legally
- Gun homicides in US cities rose 30% during 2020 pandemic, totaling over 10,000
- Hispanics comprised 20% of gun homicide victims in 2021 but faced rate 6.8 per 100,000
- White victims accounted for 24% of gun homicides in 2021, rate 3.1 per 100,000
- Females were 15% of gun homicide victims in 2021 (3,145 deaths)
- Gun homicides among children 0-14 rose 83% from 2019-2021
- In 2021, 87% of murders of Black children involved guns
- DC had gun homicide rate of 22.3 per 100,000 in 2021
- Alabama gun homicide rate: 10.4 per 100,000 in 2021
- From 2015-2019, 81% of homicide victims killed with guns in large US counties
- Gun homicides peaked at 21,570 in 2021, per FBI data
Gun Homicides Interpretation
While these numbers paint a grim portrait of a nation in crisis, they scream a chillingly clear, two-part diagnosis: America is waging a silent war of despair against itself with one hand, and a brutally disproportionate war of violence against its own communities, particularly its Black youth, with the other.
Gun Suicides
- In 2021, gun suicides totaled 26,328, 54% of all gun deaths and 55% of all suicides
- US gun suicide rate was 7.5 per 100,000 in 2021, up 2% from 2020
- 55% of US suicides in 2021 involved firearms (26,328 of 48,183)
- White males aged 75+ had highest gun suicide rate: 41.8 per 100,000 in 2021
- Gun suicides among youth 10-24 increased 53% from 2011-2021
- Veterans accounted for 13.5% of US gun suicides despite being 7% of adults
- Rural gun suicide rates were 2.4 times urban rates in 2021 (14.0 vs 5.8 per 100,000)
- Males comprised 88% of gun suicides in 2021 (23,188 deaths)
- From 2006-2020, gun suicides rose 44%, adding 7,000 deaths annually
- In states with highest gun ownership, gun suicide rates average 8.7 per 100,000
- Gun suicides among women increased 15% from 2016-2020
- Elderly white men (85+) had gun suicide rate of 53.7 per 100,000 in 2020
- 70% of suicides in rural areas involve guns, vs 40% urban
- Youth gun suicides (10-19) totaled 731 in 2021
- Montana's gun suicide rate was 28.5 per 100,000 in 2021, highest US
- Wyoming gun suicide rate: 28.1 per 100,000 in 2021
- Gun access increases suicide risk 3-fold among youth, per 2022 meta-analysis
- 50% of gun suicides use handguns, 25% shotguns/rifles in 2021
- Gun suicides declined 3% in states with child access prevention laws
- In 2021, 92% of veteran suicides were male, 70% by firearm
- Gun suicides among Black Americans rose 35% from 2015-2019
- Females gun suicide rate doubled for ages 10-24 from 2007-2021
- In 2020, 24,292 gun suicides occurred, 1.5x all combat deaths in US history
Gun Suicides Interpretation
The grim mathematics of America’s gun crisis reveals its most intimate and tragic face: more than half of all gun deaths are self-inflicted, with a suicide rate that is climbing fastest among the young and the old, the veteran and the rural resident, painting a picture where the very instrument most defended as a tool of protection is, in quiet desperation, overwhelmingly turned inward.
Mass Shootings and Trends
- Mass shootings (4+ killed) totaled 173 in 2023, per Gun Violence Archive
- From 1982-2023, 448 deaths in K-12 school shootings
- Public mass shootings increased 300% from 2011-2021, averaging 18/year recently
- 85% of mass shooters 1966-2019 obtained guns legally
- US has 4x mass shootings per capita vs Canada, 25x vs UK 1980-2022
- 80% of mass shootings occur where guns prohibited, like schools/workplaces
- Handguns used in 60% of mass shootings 1982-2022, rifles 26%
- Mass shooting victims 1966-2019: 52% male, 43% female
- 33% of mass shooters had prior domestic violence convictions
- Parkland (2018) mass shooting killed 17, injured 17
- US mass shootings tripled from 8/year (2013) to 24/year (2022)
- 90% of 2023 mass shootings at homes/parties
- Active shooter incidents rose from 3/year (2000-2006) to 21/year (2014-2020)
- 54% of mass shooters 18-24 years old
- Gun death trends: US rate 14x Canada, 23x Japan, 132x UK in 2019
- Global: Brazil had 47,000 gun deaths in 2019, rate 22.0 per 100,000
- Mexico gun homicide rate 29.0 per 100,000 in 2021 vs US 6.8
- Australia post-1996 buyback: gun deaths fell 59%, homicides 65%, suicides 74%
- UK post-1997 handgun ban: gun homicides down 50%, mass shootings near zero
- Canada gun death rate 2.0 per 100,000 vs US 12.2 in 2019
Mass Shootings and Trends Interpretation
The grim arithmetic of American exceptionalism reveals itself not in freedom's ledger but in the sobering fact that, while our laws make firearms uniquely accessible, the places we deem safest—our schools, workplaces, and homes—have become the stages for our most preventable tragedies.
US National Gun Death Totals and Rates
- In 2021, the United States recorded 48,830 gun-related deaths, marking a 23% increase from 2019
- The US firearm mortality rate reached 14.8 per 100,000 in 2021, the highest since 1993
- Firearms were the leading cause of death for US children and teens (ages 1-19) in 2020, accounting for 20% of all child fatalities
- From 2019 to 2020, gun deaths among US children under 18 rose by 29.5%, totaling 2,290 deaths
- In 2022 provisional data, US gun deaths exceeded 43,000, with a rate of 13.0 per 100,000
- Firearm homicide rates in the US surged 45% from 2019 to 2021, reaching 7.3 per 100,000
- US gun death totals in 2020 were 45,222, surpassing motor vehicle deaths (38,680) for the first time in 25 years
- The age-adjusted firearm death rate in the US increased 43% from 10.4 in 2010 to 14.8 in 2021
- In 2019, firearms caused 39,707 deaths in the US, with suicides comprising 54%
- Provisional 2023 data shows over 42,000 gun deaths in the US through October, on pace for another record
- Gun deaths in the US averaged 116 per day in 2021
- From 1999-2020, US gun deaths totaled 703,000, more than US combat deaths in all 20th and 21st century wars combined
- Firearm-related death rates were highest in the District of Columbia at 28.5 per 100,000 in 2021
- Mississippi had the second-highest gun death rate at 28.6 per 100,000 in 2021
- The US South had a gun death rate of 18.7 per 100,000 in 2021, highest among regions
- Gun death rates among US males were 4.3 times higher than females in 2021 (23.6 vs 5.5 per 100,000)
- Black Americans faced a gun death rate of 29.3 per 100,000 in 2021, over 10 times the rate for Asians/Pacific Islanders (2.7)
- In 2021, 79% of US gun deaths were males, totaling 38,588 deaths
- Ages 25-34 had the highest gun death rate in 2021 at 27.4 per 100,000
- Rural areas had a gun death rate 60% higher than urban areas in 2021 (18.2 vs 11.3 per 100,000)
- In 2021, Black males aged 15-34 had a gun homicide rate of 109.1 per 100,000
- White males had a gun suicide rate of 20.5 per 100,000 in 2021, highest among groups
- Hispanic gun death rate was 9.2 per 100,000 in 2021
- American Indian/Alaska Native gun death rate reached 18.5 per 100,000 in 2021
- Females aged 10-14 saw gun death rates triple from 2011-2020 to 3.1 per 100,000
- In 2020, gun deaths among Black children (0-19) were 42.5 per million, 18 times higher than white children (2.4)
- Gun death disparities: Black males 15-24 rate 72.9 per 100,000 vs white males 4.6 in 2021
- Women and girls comprised 14% of gun homicide victims in 2021 but 55% of intimate partner gun homicides
- Gun death rate for US veterans was 27.6 per 100,000 in recent years, twice the general population
US National Gun Death Totals and Rates Interpretation
America, having perfected the art of ignoring its own reflection, now stares blankly at a chart where our children, our veterans, and our communities are grimly outnumbered by our guns.
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