Children and teens are more likely to die by guns than anything else
Guns continue to be the leading cause of death for US children and teens since surpassing car accidents in 2020.
(CNN) — Guns continue to be the leading cause of death for US children and teens since surpassing car accidents in 2020.
Firearms accounted for 18% of childhood deaths (ages 1 to 18) in 2023, the most recent year for which data is available from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Wonder database. About 3,500 children died in gun-related incidents that year. That’s about 5 children lost for every 100,000 children in the United States. In no other comparable country are firearms within the top four causes of mortality among children, according to a KFF analysis.
There have been at least 18 school shootings in the United States as of May 1 this year, with 12 occurring on college campuses and six on K-12 school grounds, according to a CNN analysis.
Adolescent deaths from opioid use, classified as poisonings by the CDC, have also increased in recent years. All poisonings accounted for 7.3% of child and teen deaths in 2023 — double the rate from five years prior.
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CNN’s Deidre McPhillips contributed to this report.
