As of 2020, more Americans age 1 to 19 die by guns each year than any other cause—including car accidents, drug overdoses, and cancer— according to a study by The New England Journal of Medicine. The study found that more than 4,300 people age 19 and under died from gunshots in 2020, up 29 percent over the year before—and the figure is likely to grow. “In the last 40 years, and almost certainly before that, this is the first time that firearm injuries have surpassed motor vehicle crashes among kids,” the study found, adding that homicides topped suicides in the findings. Overall, gun deaths grew by 33 percent between 2019 and 2020 across all demographics. Car accidents, once the top killer of kids, dropped dramatically over the last 20 years, the study found. “You can reduce injury rates without banning guns, just like everyone reduced motor vehicle crash rates without banning cars,” the authors concluded.
