Nearly 19 children a day die from or are treated for a gunshot wound every day in the US, reveals a new study.
The study concluded that nearly 1,300 children died as a result of a gun from 2012 to 2014 and nearly 6,000 were treated for gun related injuries.
The study, published in the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, looked at data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Vital Statistics System and the US Consumer Product Safety Commission’s National Electronic Injury Surveillance System.
The results concluded that of the injured children, an overwhelming 71 per cent were a result of assault. Approximately 21 per cent were unintentional, often children taking their parents’ firearms without knowing the dangers of doing so.
Of the child deaths, over half were homicides and 38 per cent were a result of suicide.
The study also took a deeper look at gender and gun violence among those under 17 in the US.
Of the 1,300 children who died in the two year period, 82 per cent were boys. They comprised 84 per cent of the nearly 6,000 children injured due to a gun.
The most firearm deaths were in the African American community, while white and Native American children had the highest rates of firearm suicide.
Geographically, the study showed that the most deaths by firearm among children occurred in Louisiana and Washington, DC.
Researchers noted however that the rate of gun-related injuries may not be wholly accurate due to under-reporting. Laws in most states require police to be called when anyone is brought into a hospital with such an injury.
In terms of the global number of gun-related deaths however, the US still makes up 91 per cent of children dying as a result of a firearm.