Guns killed more in 2021, too. The increase is driven by the number of Black youths killed by firearms.
Highlights
- The Washington Post analysis reviewed CDC death records for people ages 1 through 19 from 2011 through October 2021.
- The change was caused by a 30 percent increase in gun deaths for people 19 and younger in 2020.
- Non-Hispanic Black youths are the only group for whom guns are deadlier than cars.
- Vehicles, however, still kill more youngsters than guns for those demographic groups.
- Guns killed about the same number of Asian youngsters as vehicles in 2020 and 2021, as well as vehicles, The Post found.
- The country is very active in trying to reduce vehicle deaths, a researcher at the University of Massachusetts said, but “sensible policies that could reduce shootings are not being widely implemented”