Guns remained top cause of death among youth in 2022, while gun suicides hit record high

Key takeaways:

• The gun homicide rate was 35% higher in 2022 compared with that of 2019.
• For the first time, the gun suicide rate among Black youth surpassed that of white youth in 2022.

Gun death rates persisted at high levels in 2022, particularly among Black youth, and gun-related suicides increased 1.6% from 2021, reaching an all-time high, according to provisional CDC data.

“The provisional data show that the American epidemic of gun violence persists,” Ari Davis, a policy advisor at the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions, said in a press release. “Guns remain the leading cause of death for children and teens ages 1 to 19 years; gun homicides continue to drive deep health inequities by race and ethnicity; and gun suicides continue to take the lives of elderly white men at high rates and, increasingly, the lives of Black teens.”

Researchers from the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions analyzed the provisional data, which are made available before the final numbers are released in the winter, according to a press release.

In 2022, 48,117 people died by guns, which translates to about one person every 11 minutes, the release said. Although the overall gun death rate declined by 1.9% from 2021 to 2022, gun deaths are up by 21% since 2019.

There was also a 6.8% decrease in the gun homicide rate in 2022. Still, researchers identified 19,592 gun-related homicides, which is the second highest annual rate since 1995. The gun homicide rate was 35% higher in 2022 compared with that of 2019.

Suicides by firearm, which had previously hit an all-time high in 2021, increased by 1.6% in 2022, with 26,993 deaths. This trend has steadily increased since 2006, according to the release.

Guns remained the leading cause of youth aged 1 to 19 years for the 5th-straight year. Although the gun death rate in this age group slightly dropped by 3% — for a total of 4,590 deaths — it was the second highest rate in the last 25 years, behind 2021, and has jumped by 87% in the last decade.

The CDC data also revealed a growth in racial disparities. In 2022, Black youth were 20 times more likely to die from firearms compared with white youth. Additionally, the gun suicide rate among Black youth aged 10 to 19 years surpassed the gun suicide rate of white youth of the same age for the first time ever. Researchers found that gun-related suicides tripled among Black children and adolescents between 2003 to 2022.

Several leading medical organizations have previously addressed rising trends in gun violence, with the AMA adopting new firearm policies during its House of Delegates meeting.

The Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions highlighted five possible evidence-based interventions, which include:

• implementing gun purchaser licensing laws;
• investing in community programs;
• supporting stronger concealed carry permit laws and revoking “stand your ground” laws;
• implementing child access prevention laws; and
• implementing “red-flag” laws to remove firearms from people at risk for violence.

“We are all impacted by this ongoing public health crisis,” Davis said. “It is past time for our leaders to enact evidence-based solutions to address it.”