Gun-related deaths have overtaken car accidents as the leading cause of death for children in the United States, The New England Journal of Medicine mentionted in May. The 45,222 gun-related deaths in 2020 — “a new high,” according to the NEJM — was a 13.5 percent increase from 2019 and largely attributed to an increase in homicides, not suicides. Of the deaths, 10% were children ages 1 to 19, making 2020 the first year that firearms killed more children than car accidents.
In light of the recent spate of mass shootings in the United States, including gruesome murders of 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in May, it can be tempting to attribute this development to mass shootings. But Northeastern researchers say that's a misunderstanding of the real dangers of gun violence in the United States. The overall increase in gun deaths between 2019 and 2020 is somewhat of a mystery.
