The United States saw gun deaths reach record levels in 2021, according to a new report from the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions.
Firearm-related deaths soared during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic and spiked again in the second year.
Both gun-related homicides and suicides resulted in 48,830 total firearm fatalities in 2021. It is the highest number on record to date and an increase of over 3,600 deaths from 2020, the previous record.
The report also found that more than half of all firearm deaths (26,328) were due to suicide. The firearm suicide rate increased by 8.3 percent in 2021, marking the highest one-year increase in four decades.
The Johns Hopkins report indicated that black people were 14 times more likely to be fatally shot than their white counterparts. Firearm fatalities accounted for 51 percent of all deaths involving black teens ages 15-19. Additionally, 36 percent of all gun homicides in 2021 were among black males ages 15 to 34.
Lethal Injuries
New research suggests that shootings are becoming more lethal, as most victims of fatal firearm injuries die at the scene of the shooting.A shift in the type of firearms that are being bought and used is a key factor making shootings more lethal, experts say.
“It’s leaning more and more towards military-grade, higher velocity, higher lethality type of weapons,” said Dr. Eric Fleegler, an emergency physician at Boston Children’s Hospital.
Gun Sales Spike
Mass shootings have escalated to a record pace in the United States, with at least 162 already reported in 2023.The continued rise in gun violence starting in 2020 coincides with an ongoing sharp increase in firearm sales. According to federal data, over 39 million gun background checks were performed in 2020.
Experts say the jump in gun sales in 2020 stemmed partly from people who fear rising crime and the push to cut funding to police departments in major cities nationwide. Gun sales remained strong in 2021, with 38 million background checks being performed.
The continued robust demand for firearms comes at a time when the Biden administration has moved to tighten restrictions on gun ownership.
U.S. civilians have owned about 423 million firearms between 1986 and 2018, according to NSFF estimates, which translates to around five guns for every three American adults.