A new study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that the United States has seen a spike of more than 35% in gun-related deaths in the first year of the coronavirus pandemic.
Data released on Tuesday showed that the U.S. firearm homicide rate in 2020 was the highest recorded in the country since 1994. Emergency physician Dr. Debra Houry has spent roughly 20 years working in her position in the U.S. and noted frequently treating young men for gunshot wounds.
Gun-Related Deaths in the US
Houry serves as acting principal deputy director and head of the National Center for Injury Prevention with the CDC. A recent study showed that the overall firearm homicide rate between 2019 and 2020 increased by roughly 35%. CDC researchers said that the COVID-19 pandemic could be to blame for exacerbating existing social and economic stressors, as per CNN.
These factors are believed to be what resulted in the increased risk for homicide and suicide, especially among certain racial and ethnic communities. They added that the rise in firearm homicide rates and persistently high firearm suicide rates in the first year of the health crisis has widened disparities and heightened the urgency of actions that could provide immediate and lasting benefits.
In 2020, nearly 20,000 Americans were victims of fatal shootings, resulting in an increase in the rate from 4.6 to 6.1 per 100,000 people. In the same year, more than 24,000 Americans reportedly killed themselves using firearms. This is a slight increase from the 23,888 Americans who used guns to commit suicide in 2019.
According to Fox News, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky posted on Twitter saying that the tragic and historic increase in firearm homicide and high rates of suicide with guns underscores the urgent need for action to reduce firearm-related deaths. She added that the public must work together with authorities to take preventative actions.
Long-Lasting Consequences
Houry said that she was not surprised about the sudden rise in gun-related deaths but called the situation "heartbreaking." Data showed that firearm murders increased most notably among youth and young adults, 40% for those 10 to 24. Furthermore, the increases were also highest for people of color.
The CDC's data showed that rates of gun homicide involving Black males aged 10 to 24 years, which were already 21 times as high as white males of the same age, further rose in 2020. The agency's study suggests that the rise in violence could be a result of reinforced "longstanding" inequities between communities.
The associate director for science at the CDC's Division of Violence Prevention, Thomas Simon, said during a press briefing on Tuesday, that the statistics have devastating effects on families, schools, and entire communities. He added that the situation has lasting consequences on people as individuals and as a society.
Simon said that while the CDC's reports contain statistics and numbers, it was equally important to reflect on the individual lives lost in the incidents. He said that even one homicide or suicide was one too many, ABC News reported.
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