Youth gun violence has increased rapidly in the United States in recent years. Meanwhile, a growing body of research is linking gun violence to negative effects on youth mental health and well-being. However, understanding the full scope of the epidemic of youth gun violence is limited by a lack of data on nonfatal firearm injuries. Estimates have found that for every fire death, at least two are survivors of fire injuries. In the past decade, the number of youth who died from firearms has increased by 68% (Figure 1), suggesting that more youth are experiencing nonfatal firearm injuries or gun violence that may affect their mental health (for example, school shootings have increased over time, as more school-aged children have been exposed to these shootings).
In early 2020, fire deaths among youth (ages 17 and under) surpassed motor vehicle deaths for the first time. Motor vehicle deaths — a long-standing cause of death among young people — have declined for decades and have declined in recent years, largely as a result of nationwide efforts to improve safety. However, fire incidents have risen in recent years and some of the safety efforts under the previous Biden administration are being rolled back during Trump’s second administration. This includes eliminating the White House Office on Gun Violence Prevention. Creation of a Second Amendment section under the Department of Justice, which focuses on expanding gun rights protections; and a number of funding cuts through the Department of Justice and the Bilateral Safe Communities Act (BSCA), which were meant to improve safety and mental health resources for children. The BSCA has also allocated funds to support states with high-risk protective order policies – a red flag law linked to reducing suicide deaths – however, it is unclear how this funding will affect the future. Separately, a KFF poll found that 44% of parents with children under 18 have a gun at home; And a larger share of those parents said a gun was stored frequently (32%), stored in an open area (32%), or a gun was stored in the same location as ammunition (61%).
This brief explores the effects of gun violence on children and adolescents (age 17 and younger), including changes in mortality rates over time and by demographics, patterns of exposure to gun violence, and how gun violence can affect mental health and well-being. Key findings include:
- Fire rates among children and teenagers have increased since the epidemic began, driven primarily by gun assaults. From 2021 to 2023, the firearm death rate was steady at 3.5 per 100,000 children and adolescents, before falling to 3.0 in 2024, but remains above pre-epidemic levels.
- Fire deaths are more common among young adults (ages 12-17) than among young children; Black and American Indian and Alaska Native children and youth compared to their white peers; and male children and youth than females.
- States vary widely in terms of fire risk rates, although higher rates are more common in southern states.
How has the incidence of fire among children and teenagers changed in recent years?
Fire-related deaths among children and adults rose sharply in 2020 as the epidemic began; However, the latest CDC data shows a decline from 2023 to 2024 (Figure 2). From 2014 to 2024, nearly 22,000 youth ages 17 and under died from firearms.1 During this period, fire rates gradually increased until 2017, stabilized for several years, and then increased sharply during the epidemic (Figure 1). While the death rate is higher than in previous epidemics, there has been a decrease from 2023 to 2024 (3.5 versus 3.0 firearm-related deaths per 100,000 children and adolescents).
The increase in firearm deaths in recent years has been driven by gun assaults, which accounted for at least three out of five firearm deaths among children and youth since 2020. Gun-related deaths among children and adolescents increased over the past decade, peaking at 1,674 deaths in 2022, before declining to 1,337 deaths in 2024 (Figure 3). Overall, the number of firearm-related suicides among children and adolescents has increased over the past decade; And, by 2024, fire will account for 31%.
By 2024, 68% of all assault deaths among children and adolescents involve firearms; And 45% of all suicide deaths are fire-related (Figure 4). From 2014 to 2024, the share of all assault deaths involving firearms increased from 49% (703 of 1,439 deaths among children 17 and younger) to 68% (1,337 of 1,959 deaths). During the same period, the share of all suicide deaths, including firearms, also increased but less than that of arson attacks. In 2024, 45% of suicides were by fire (687 of 1,530 deaths among children 17 years and younger) compared to 40% in 2014 (532 of 1,344 deaths).
How do youth gun deaths vary by demographic characteristics?
In 2024, firearm death rates were highest among adolescents (ages 12–17), Black and American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) youth, and male youth (Figure 5). The firearm death rate for teenagers (ages 12-17) was 7.5 per 100,000, compared to 0.6 for children 11 and younger. Black and AIAN youth experienced significantly higher firearm death rates (10.0 and 6.8 per 100,000) than their white peers (1.9). Males aged 17 and under are five times more likely than their female counterparts to die by fire (5.0 per 100,000 to 1.0 in 2024).
By 2024, black youth will account for 46% of all youth firearm deaths, even though they make up only 14% of the US youth population (Figure 6). In contrast, white youth account for 29% of all youth firearm deaths and they will make up nearly half (48%) of the youth population in 2024.
How do juvenile homicides vary by state?
Fire rates among children and adolescents range from a high of 10.1 per 100,000 in the District of Columbia to a low of 0.7 in Massachusetts; However, most of the states with the highest rates are concentrated in the South (Figure 9). From 2020 to 2024, the states with the highest rates of child and adolescent child abuse were the District of Columbia, Mississippi, and Louisiana (10.1, 8.7, and 8.4 per 100,000, respectively, for the combined years, 2020–2024). Almost all states experienced increases in firearm death rates over the decade, with North Carolina and Mississippi seeing the largest increases (109% and 107%, respectively) (see Appendix). The states with the lowest firearm death rates are Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York (0.7, 0.9, and 1.1 per 100,000 for the combined years, 2020-2024, respectively). States also vary widely in their provisions on gun safety, including child access protection laws and End-of-Risk Protection Order (ERPO) policies.
Appendix
#Child #Youth #Firearm #Deaths #National #Trends #Variations #Demographics #States #KFF