CPYV : The Center to Prevent Youth Violence -

Top Five Leading Causes of Death,
African American 10-19 Year Olds

*Most recent data available

• Over three-quarters of youths under age 15 who die in firearm accidents are shot by another person, usually another youth (Hemenway and Miller, “Unintentional firearm deaths: A comparison of other-inflicted and self-inflicted shootings,” Accident Analysis and Prevention, July 2010, vol. 42, issue 4).

• 81% of homicide deaths of 10-19 year olds are carried out with a firearm (NCIPC).

• Further, if firearm injury (including homicides, accidents and suicides) was listed by the CDC as an official “cause of death,” it would surpass homicide to be the 2nd leading cause of death of 10-19 year olds (NCIPC).

• In 2009, 14,008 children and teens ages 0-19 were injured with a firearm in the U.S. (NCIPC).

• In 2007, 3,067 children and teens were killed as a result of a firearm injury in the United States (NCIPC). *Most recent available data

• Over 3.02 million high school students carry a weapon at least once every 30 days (2009 YRBSS).

• 22% of U.S. teenagers (ages 14 to 17) report having witnessed a shooting in their lifetime, and more than one in ten have witnessed a shooting in the past year (US Department of Justice, OJJDP, “Children’s exposure to violence: A comprehensive national survey”, Juvenile Justice Bulletin, National Survey of Children’s Expsoure to Violence, Oct 2009).

• 81% of the time, school attackers tell someone about their plans beforehand (“Safe Schools Initiative,” developed by the US Secret Service and US Department of Education 2002).

• 88% of youth say they would be likely to use an anonymous hotline to report threats of violence (CPYV 2011 National Youth Survey). *Survey results will be released end Summer 2011

Accessibility

• Thirty-three percent of U.S. households contain a gun (Pew 2009), and half of gun-owning households don’t lock up their guns, including 40 percent of households with kids under age 18 (Johnson, R.M., Coyne-Beasely, T., and Runyan, C.W., “Firearm ownership and storage practices, U.S. households, 1992-2002. A systematic review.” American Journal of Prevention Medicine, August 2004, vol 27, issue 2, p. 173-182).

• A gun is 22 times more likely to be used in a completed or attempted suicide, criminal assault or homicide, or unintentional shooting death or injury than to be used in a self-defense shooting (Kellermann et al, “Injuries and Deaths Due to Firearms in the Home” Journal of Trauma-Injury Infection & Critical Care, August 1998, vol 45, issue 2, p. 263-267).

• In 2007, 138 children and teens ages 0-19 were killed in unintentional shootings (NCIPC).

• In 2009, 3,588 children and teens ages 0-19 were treated in emergency rooms for unintentional gunshot wounds (NCIPC).

• In 78% of accidental shooting deaths of children under 15, the child was shot by another person. In these cases, the person was almost always a friend or family member, and more than half of the time, the shooting occurred at someone else’s home (Hemenway and Miller, “Unintentional firearm deaths: A comparison of other-inflicted and self-inflicted shootings,” Accident Analysis and Prevention, July 2010, vol. 42, issue 4).

• When it comes to suicide, means matter.
  • At least one-third of suicide decedents under age 18 experienced a crisis within 24 hours of taking their life, according to NVISS data (NVISS – Characteristics of Victims of Suicide).
  • A study of individuals who attempted suicide and survived found that 9 out of 10 did not go on to die by suicide at a later date (Owens, D., Horrocks, J., & House, A., “Owens, Horrocks & House, 2002- Fatal and non-fatal repetition of self-harm,” The British Journal of Psychiatry, 2002, vol 181, pages: 193-199).
  • More than 90 percent of suicide attempts with a gun are fatal. In comparison, only 3 percent of attempts with drugs or cutting are fatal (Harvard School of Public Health).
  • An NVISS Study of firearm suicides among youth under 18 occurring found that 82% used a firearm belonging to a family member, usually a parent. When storage status was noted, about two-thirds of the firearms had been stored unlocked. Among the remaining cases in which the firearms had been locked the youth knew the combination or where the key was kept or broke into the cabinet (Harvard School of Public Health).
  • Every study that has examined the issue to date has found that within the U.S., access to firearms is associated with increased suicide risk (Harvard School of Public Health).