Gun-related deaths spiked during pandemic, highest rate in 25 years

The U.S. saw the highest gun-related deaths in more than 25 years during the first year of the coronavirus pandemic, new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show. 

“In 2020, coincident with the COVID-19 pandemic, the firearm homicide rate increased nearly 35%, reaching its highest level since 1994, with disparities by race and ethnicity and poverty level widening,” the CDC report says. Similarly, the CDC data shows that 53% of the suicides in 2020 involved firearms. 

The study found that the number of gun-related homicides increased throughout all demographics, among men and women, as well as in metropolitan and rural areas. However, the data showed disparities in race, ethnicity, and poverty levels. 

The largest increase from 2019 to 2020 was seen among young non-Hispanic Black males between 10 and 44. The number of gun-related deaths among Black males between 10 and 24 was 21.6 times higher than the same age group for white males. 

Gun-related homicides were also more prominent in areas with more poverty, with numbers 4.5 times larger than in counties with lower poverty levels. Gun suicide was also 1.3 times higher in poor neighborhoods. 

"Nearly 5,000 more lives were lost to gun homicide in 2020 than in 2019. Gun suicides remained at historically high levels. Guns were the leading cause of death among children and teens in 2020, accounting for more deaths than COVID-19, car crashes, or cancer," reported the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions last month. 

While the CDC did not give reasons as to why gun violence increased throughout 2020, the agency did stress that gun violence is preventable. 

“There’s so much that can be done. And so CDC is really funding that research now to fill those gaps to really focus on programming strategies that work,” said Debra Houry, director of the agency’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. 

According to the non-profit Gun Violence Archive, more than 153,000 people have died from gun violence, including suicide, so far in 2022. Around 6,773 of those incidents were homicides, and 8,580 were suicides.

"If the observed patterns continue from November and December, then we would see that both firearm homicides and suicides will likely turn out to be higher than those in 2020," added Houry.

“The tragic and historic increase in firearm homicide and the persistently high rates of firearm suicide underscore the urgent need for action to reduce firearm-related injuries and deaths,” CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said in a statement. “By addressing factors contributing to homicide and suicide and providing support to communities, we can help stop violence now and in the future.”