The number of gun-related deaths among teens and children in the United States increased by 50% between 2019 and 2021, a new study by the Pew Research Center revealed on Thursday.
Using mortality statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the study showed that despite pandemic-related lockdowns, deaths among children and teens under the age of 18 rose from 1,732 in 2019 to 2,590 in 2021, Sputnik reported.
Most of these deaths are the result of homicide, with suicide and accidents taking up less than 40% of the combined gun deaths for children in the US, according to the study.
The deaths were much more common among boys than girls, with the former accounting for 83% of deaths and the latter only 17% of deaths, the study showed. Overwhelmingly, older children and teenagers were more likely to die by gunfire (86%) than children between the ages of 6 and 11 (7%).
There were significant racial and ethnic differences in the likelihood and types of gun deaths, too, with the study showing that Black children and teens were nearly five times as likely as White children and teens to die by gunfire in 2021 alone, most of them (84%) by homicide.
Parents of American children are more likely to be concerned about their kids getting shot if they reside in urban areas (35%) than if they live in rural (19%) or suburban (17%) areas, according to the study. And low-income parents were more likely to be concerned (40%) than middle-income (16%) and wealthy (10%) parents about their children being shot.