10.3.1: Gun Violence
Gun violence is of particular concern to public health, as both intentional violence and unintentional injuries and deaths involving guns remains a significant health threat to the U.S. population. Over the last decade, both deaths and injuries from firearms have been climbing, and peaked in 2020 with over 21,000 deaths and 40,000 injuries due to firearms. The number of mass shootings (those involving 4 or more victims besides the shooter) have steadily increased year over year from 272 in 2014 to 656 in 2023 (Gun Violence Archive, 2024). According to the CDC, the number of firearm deaths (including those that are accidental or intentional) in 2022 was higher than motor vehicle accident deaths (48,204 vs. 44,534) (CDC/National Center for Health Statistics, 2024d). The highest proportion of gun deaths continues to be from suicides. Gun deaths in the U.S. are much higher than in some other wealthy countries like Canada, Australia, and Germany, yet are significantly lower than the rates found in several South American countries (Geiger, 2023).