Young Black men, teens made up 37% of 2019 gun homicide victims: CDC
Young Black males and teens made up greater than a 3rd of firearm homicide victims within the U.S. in 2019. The discovering was only one of a number of disparities revealed in a evaluation of 2019 gun mortality information lately launched by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The analysis, released Tuesday and titled “A Public Health Crisis in the Making,” discovered that though Black males and boys in that age group – 15 to 34 – make up simply 2% of the nation’s inhabitants, they had been amongst 37% of gun homicides that yr.
That’s 20 instances larger than white males of the identical age group.
Of all reported firearm homicides in 2019, greater than half of victims had been Black males, in line with the research spearheaded by the Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence and The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence. And 63% of male victims had been Black.
The distinction is much more stark when the charges had been in comparison with white individuals: Across all ages, Black males had been almost 14 instances extra more likely to die in a firearm homicide than white males, and eight instances extra more likely to die in a firearm homicide than the final inhabitants, together with girls.
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Black girls and women are additionally at larger danger. Black females had the very best danger of being killed by a firearm than females of some other race or ethnicity, and had been 4 instances extra more likely to be victims than white females.
“Gun violence has for the longest time been a public health crisis in the Black community,” mentioned epidemiologist Ed Clark of Florida A&M University’s Institute of Public Health.
The gun violence skilled mentioned a “holistic approach” is required to cut back gun fatalities and accidents.
“That should include really viewing gun violence as a public health issue. The business of public health is population wellness – looking at how we can decrease the disease burden or the threat of injury to the population at large,” he mentioned. “And gun violence is definitely a problem that should be looked at through that lens.”
After Black men and women, American Indian and Alaska Natives had been the following highest-risk group, in line with the evaluation, adopted by Latino and Hispanic individuals.
Ahmaud Arbery was killed at 25:A year later, Black men who see themselves in him mourn his loss.
Most of kids and teens up to age 19 who died that yr died by firearm, the research discovered – 1 in 10 of deaths in that age group. That’s the second-highest complete in 20 years.
Evidence suggests gun homicides rose “dramatically” final yr throughout the pandemic, the authors mentioned, however as a result of of what they argued is a scarcity of well timed information, “we won’t know the full scale of the problem for many months to come.”
The rising information additionally suggests, the authors wrote, that suicides amongst Black individuals rose disproportionately. Still, the research discovered the bulk of all suicide deaths by firearm, 73%, had been white males. White males had been greater than twice as more likely to die by a firearm suicide than others.
Sixty p.c of all firearm deaths in 2019 had been suicides. In complete, 39,707 individuals died from gun violence that yr.
“Despite the limitations, gun death data are the most reliable type of gun violence data currently available – but gun deaths are only the tip of the iceberg of gun violence. Many more people are shot and survive their injuries, are shot at but not hit, or witness gun violence,” commentary on the evaluation reads. “Many experience gun violence in other ways, by living in impacted communities, losing loved ones to gun violence, or being threatened with a gun.”
Reach Nada Hassanein at [email protected] or on Twitter @nhassanein_.
