NCJ Number
149880
Editor(s)
L Duker
Date Published
Unknown
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This report presents information and statistics on the nature, extent, costs, and prevention of firearms deaths, particularly among children.
Abstract
Statistics are presented to show that American youth are killed with guns at far higher rates than youth in other countries and than older Americans. Young, urban African- American males are most at risk. A paper on youth suicide and guns shows that if a teenager attempts suicide with a gun, death is nearly guaranteed. Suicide is the third leading cause of death for adolescents and young adults in the United States, after car crashes and homicides; guns are now used in approximately 60 percent of all teenage suicides. Statistics on unintentional gun deaths among children show that children are at risk of being killed or injured by a gun if their parents own a gun, because many guns obtained for self-defense are kept loaded and within the reach of children. Other statistics address guns in schools, the risks posed by gun ownership by women, the risks posed by increasing the number of guns in homes, the financial costs of gun violence, and the prevention of child and adolescent firearm injuries. Prevention suggestions are comprehensive and reflect strategies tried across the Nation to prevent gun violence. References accompany each section of the paper.