With more than 43,000 lives tragically lost to gunfire in 2023 alone, a number that eclipses annual deaths from car crashes, the United States is grappling with a uniquely American epidemic of violence that touches every community and demands a closer look at the sobering statistics behind the headlines.
Key Takeaways
- In 2023, there were 43,065 gun-related deaths in the US, including 29,836 homicides/suicides and 13,229 unintentional/other
- Firearms were used in 54% of all US homicides in 2022, totaling 19,651 firearm homicides
- From 2019-2023, annual gun homicides averaged 21,000, a 25% increase from the prior decade
- In 2023, 656 mass shootings occurred, killing 712 and injuring 2,700+
- Uvalde school shooting 2022: 21 killed (19 children, 2 teachers)
- Buffalo supermarket 2022: 10 killed, 3 injured in racist attack
- In 2022, 44,290 non-fatal gun injuries reported to NEISS
- Gunshot wounds treated in ERs: 82,000 in 2021, up 40% from 2019
- Pediatric gun injuries: 27,000 hospitalizations 2010-2021
- In 2021, Black Americans were 60% of gun homicide victims but 14% pop
- Males: 86% of gun homicide victims, rate 12.5 per 100k vs 1.9 females
- Children/teens (1-17): 2,590 gun homicides in 2021
- US gun ownership: 120 firearms per 100 residents, highest globally
- 44% US adults own gun personally or household, 32% personally
- Permitless carry states increased from 25 to 29 post-2022 Bruen decision
The United States continues to suffer an alarming surge in gun deaths and injuries.
Gun Ownership and Policy
- US gun ownership: 120 firearms per 100 residents, highest globally
- 44% US adults own gun personally or household, 32% personally
- Permitless carry states increased from 25 to 29 post-2022 Bruen decision
- Background checks: 30M denied 1998-2023
- States with assault weapon bans: gun death 10% lower
- Gun production: 23M firearms manufactured 2022
- Safe storage laws: reduce youth suicides 8-14%
- Stand-your-ground laws correlate with 8% homicide increase
- Universal background checks: states with them have 15% fewer gun deaths
- Concealed carry permits: 21.5M active 2023, up 10%
- Ghost guns: 25,000 traced in crimes 2019-2022
- Red flag laws: prevented 800+ gun removals 2020-2023
- Gun show loophole: 20-40% private sales unchecked
- Waiting periods: reduce gun suicides 11%, homicides 17%
- Open carry states: 45 allow some form
- Firearm export/import: US net exporter 1M guns yearly
- Domestic violence gun bans: reduce homicides 10%
- High-capacity mag bans: 48% fewer mass shooting victims
- Gun-free zones: 90% of mass shootings not in them
- Permit-to-purchase: 11 states, lower gun death rates
- 3D-printed guns: 10,000+ recovered by police 2021-2023
- Minimum age 21 for handgun: reduces youth suicides 8%
- International: US gun homicide 25x higher than peer nations
Gun Ownership and Policy Interpretation
While the nation maintains a cautious arsenal in millions of living rooms, the statistics reveal a grim equation where accessibility often outweighs the guardrails meant to keep us safe.
Mass Shootings
- In 2023, 656 mass shootings occurred, killing 712 and injuring 2,700+
- Uvalde school shooting 2022: 21 killed (19 children, 2 teachers)
- Buffalo supermarket 2022: 10 killed, 3 injured in racist attack
- Highland Park parade 2022: 7 killed, 48 injured
- Monterey Park dance studio 2023: 11 killed, 9 injured
- Allen outlet mall 2023: 8 killed, 7 injured
- Nashville school 2023: 6 killed (3 children, 3 adults)
- Lewiston ME 2023: 18 killed, 13 injured
- UNLV 2023: 3 killed, 1 injured
- Kansas City parade 2024: 1 killed, 22 injured
- Since Columbine 1999, 428 mass shootings by GVA definition (4+ injured/killed)
- 2022 record: 636 mass shootings, deadliest year
- Public mass shootings (4+ killed, FBI def): 120 from 1966-2019
- Mass shootings in schools: 153 incidents 2000-2022, 216 deaths
- Workplace mass shootings: 185 incidents 2006-2022, 300+ deaths
- Mass shootings by white supremacists: 51% of deadly attacks post-1990
- AR-15 style rifles used in 24 of 50 deadliest mass shootings since 1966
- Mass shootings doubled from 2019's 417 to 2023's 656
- 40% of mass shooters had prior domestic violence records
- Supermarkets/walmarts: 15 mass shootings since 1999, 100+ killed/injured
- Nightclubs/bars: 45 mass shootings 2015-2023
- Churches: 36 mass shootings since 2009
- Concerts/festivals: 12 mass shootings, including Las Vegas 2017 (60 killed)
- Average mass shooting victims per incident: 6.2 injured, 2.1 killed in 2023
- Repeat mass shooters: 6% involved multiple attacks
- Mass shootings in red states vs blue: no significant difference per capita
- Pulse nightclub 2016: 49 killed, 53 injured
- Parkland 2018: 17 killed, 17 injured
- El Paso Walmart 2019: 23 killed, 22 injured
Mass Shootings Interpretation
These numbers are not a political scoreboard but a grim tally of everyday American locations—schools, supermarkets, parades—systematically turned into hunting grounds by the uniquely prolific and predictable carnage of our national inaction.
Non-Fatal Injuries
- In 2022, 44,290 non-fatal gun injuries reported to NEISS
- Gunshot wounds treated in ERs: 82,000 in 2021, up 40% from 2019
- Pediatric gun injuries: 27,000 hospitalizations 2010-2021
- Annual nonfatal firearm injuries: ~140,000, cost $28B in medical expenses
- Black males: 1 in 125 chance of nonfatal gun injury lifetime
- Assault-related gun injuries: 80% of nonfatal shootings
- Self-inflicted nonfatal gun injuries: 8,000 annually
- Gun injuries in home: 45% accidental
- 2023: 31,000+ gun injury victims per GVA
- Paraplegia from gunshots: 6,000 new cases yearly
- Gun trauma costs per patient: $250,000 average hospital bill
- Youth gun injuries tripled 2015-2022 in some cities
- Female gun injury victims: 25% of total, often domestic
- Rural gun injuries: higher per capita due to hunting accidents, 4.5 per 100k
- Police-involved shootings: 1,100 nonfatal injuries 2015-2022
- Gang-related gun injuries: 60% of urban nonfatal shootings
- Amputation rates from gun injuries: 2-5% of cases
- Long-term PTSD post-gun injury: 40-60% prevalence
- Defensive gun uses result in 500-3,000 injuries annually
- Handgun injuries: 75% of nonfatal shootings
- Mass shooting injuries: 2,668 in 2023 alone
- Gun injuries during robberies: 15,000 yearly
- Elderly gun injury hospitalizations: up 50% 2016-2020
- Black children: 82 nonfatal gun injuries per day avg 2020-2022
Non-Fatal Injuries Interpretation
These statistics paint a brutally clear picture: America's gun violence epidemic is not a single crisis but a hydra-headed monster, exacting a grotesque daily toll in broken bodies, shattered lives, and staggering debt, from our children's wards to our elders' homes.
Overall Fatalities and Homicides
- In 2023, there were 43,065 gun-related deaths in the US, including 29,836 homicides/suicides and 13,229 unintentional/other
- Firearms were used in 54% of all US homicides in 2022, totaling 19,651 firearm homicides
- From 2019-2023, annual gun homicides averaged 21,000, a 25% increase from the prior decade
- In 2021, suicides accounted for 54% of gun deaths (24,292), making firearms the leading suicide method
- Gun deaths rose 43% from 2010 to 2021, reaching 48,830 total deaths
- Black Americans comprised 60% of gun homicide victims in 2022 despite being 14% of population
- In 2022, 4,579 children and teens (0-19) died by gun, highest on record
- Firearm homicides increased 35% from 2019 to 2020, from 14,414 to 19,384
- In 2023, gun suicides numbered 27,300, up 2% from 2022
- Total gun deaths per 100,000: 13.7 in 2021, highest since 1993
- Homicides by gun: 20,138 in 2023, per FBI data
- Unintentional gun deaths: 534 in 2021, including 120 children under 18
- Gun deaths in rural areas: 18.2 per 100k vs 11.9 in urban, 2020-2021
- Firearms caused 79% of murders of police officers 2010-2022
- In 2022, 691 mass shooting deaths (4+ victims)
- Gun homicide rate for males: 15.1 per 100k, females 2.4 per 100k in 2021
- Total gun violence deaths 1999-2020: 703,000+
- 2023 saw 42,967 gun deaths, down slightly from 2022's 44,290
- Firearm suicides among youth (10-24): 2,573 in 2021
- Gun deaths doubled among Black children 2019-2022
- In 2022, 14,860 gun murders, per FBI UCR
- Veterans: gun suicide rate 22.6 per 100k vs 15.6 civilian males
- Gun deaths in US exceed car crash deaths since 2016, 45k vs 42k in 2022
- Hispanic gun homicide victims: 1,697 in 2021, rate 5.5 per 100k
- Firearm homicide rate peaked at 7.6 per 100k in 2021
- In 2020, COVID lockdowns correlated with 30% gun homicide spike
- Gun deaths among Asian Americans: 1.2 per 100k, lowest rate 2021
- Total unintentional gun deaths 2015-2019: 2,357
- Gun suicides in elderly (65+): 20.5 per 100k males
- 2023 preliminary: 19,651 gun homicides
Overall Fatalities and Homicides Interpretation
America, with admirable perversity, has engineered a public health crisis where the leading instrument of self-destruction now claims more lives annually than our ubiquitous automobiles, and this ever more efficient machinery of death disproportionately preys on our young, our Black citizens, and our veterans while pretending to be the price of freedom.
Victim Demographics
- In 2021, Black Americans were 60% of gun homicide victims but 14% pop
- Males: 86% of gun homicide victims, rate 12.5 per 100k vs 1.9 females
- Children/teens (1-17): 2,590 gun homicides in 2021
- Black males 15-34: gun homicide rate 101.1 per 100k
- Women: 55% of intimate partner gun homicides
- Hispanics: 12% of gun deaths despite 19% pop, rate 7.6 per 100k
- Rural youth: gun death rate 8.2 per 100k vs 5.1 urban
- LGBTQ+ individuals: 4x higher gun homicide risk if trans
- Veterans: 22% of gun suicides, despite 7% pop
- Infants (0-1): 227 gun deaths 2020-2022, mostly homicide
- Native Americans: gun death rate 25.5 per 100k, highest
- Elderly women: gun suicide rate 5.2 per 100k
- Gang members: 80% of urban Black male gun deaths 15-24
- Poor neighborhoods: gun homicide 10x higher rate
- Transgender: 7.5x homicide rate if armed partner present
- Immigrants: lower gun victimization rates, 3.1 per 100k
- Mental illness: only 4% of gun violence perpetrators
- Homeless: 2x gun death rate
- Students: 346 school gun deaths 2018-2023
- Domestic violence victims: 1 in 4 gun homicides
- White males: 70% of gun suicides
- Urban Black females 15-24: rate 9.5 per 100k
- Asian Americans: 2% of gun homicides
Victim Demographics Interpretation
These statistics paint a grim, fractured portrait of an epidemic where the most vulnerable—Black youth, victims of domestic violence, the unhoused, and transgender individuals—are systemically trapped in the crossfire of a national crisis we refuse to solve.
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