Science and Medicine

Gun violence in the United States

Tens of thousands of firearms-related deaths and injuries occur in the United States each year. Data are collected yearly by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics, the FBI, and various state and local agencies. In 2023, the CDC reported 46,728 gun deaths, of which 58% were suicides, 38% were homicides, and the remainder were categorized as law enforcement related, accidental, or of undetermined cause. In 2024, firearm deaths fell to 44,447; suicides accounted for 62% of firearm deaths, homicides accounted for 35%, and the remainder involved law enforcement, were accidental, or had undetermined circumstances. Preliminary data for 2025 indicated continued declines in homicides and non-suicide shooting deaths, though final CDC firearm mortality data for 2025 had not yet been released. In 2023, 350 shootings occurred in K–12 schools with an additional 30 on college campuses. This marked the highest number of shootings recorded on school grounds. According to a Pew Research Center report, gun deaths among America's children rose 50% from 2019 to 2021. Estimates of defensive gun use in the United States vary widely and are contested. Analyses of the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics' National Crime Victimization Survey—a large, ongoing probability survey that first establishes that a crime occurred—indicate roughly 61,000–65,000 firearm defenses per year across 1987–2021. An online survey of gun owners in 2021 returned a higher figure. Legislation at the federal, state, and local levels has attempted to address gun violence through methods including restricting firearms purchases by youths and other "at-risk" populations, setting waiting periods for firearm purchases, establishing gun buyback programs, law enforcement and policing strategies, stiff sentencing of gun law violators, education programs for parents and children, and community outreach programs. Polling from 2023 suggested that up to 26% of Americans believe guns are the number one national public health threat.

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See also

• ▸Alison Bashford
• ▸Chen Jiru
• ▸1557 influenza pandemic

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