Youth Firearms Deaths Are on the Rise in the U.S.

Copy link to quick take

The start of the school year was marked by deadly shootings at schools in Georgia and Maryland. While school shootings are a small share of total child firearm deaths, these tragic events call attention to the increase in youth firearm deaths in recent years. Firearms are now the leading cause of death among children and adolescents in the U.S., surpassing deaths due to motor vehicle accidents. By 2022, seven children died per day by firearm. This is unique to the U.S., which has a youth firearm death rate that is at least ten times higher than firearm death rates in peer countries. 

North Carolina, Wisconsin, Montana, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Georgia have experienced the steepest increases in youth firearm deaths in recent years. 

Increases in firearm deaths were driven by gun assaults, accounting for two out of three youth firearm deaths in 2022. 

Many parents do not safely store their firearms. Seventy-eight percent of gun-owning parents reported that at least one gun in their household is stored either loaded, in an unlocked location, or in the same location as ammunition.  

The number of nonfatal youth firearm injuries far exceeds the number of youth firearm fatalities. Gun violence can negatively impact the mental health and well-being of youth survivors. Youth survivors of firearm injuries are more likely to experience substance use issues, PTSD, and chronic physical health conditions.  

Children and adolescents are exposed to gun violence in multiple ways, including neighborhood or domestic violence, suicide, and mass shootings. While mass shootings, including school shootings, account for a small portion of firearm-related deaths, they can negatively impact the mental health and wellbeing of both the surviving victims and the larger community. Even knowledge of mass shootings can be linked to increased levels of fear and anxiety among individuals who are not directly connected to these events.