Studies show surge in child homicides in 2020
Scientists behind two recent studies reported that the rates of homicides of children rose significantly in 2020, The New York Times reports. The rate of children injured by guns also increased as the COVID-19 pandemic spread.
The first study, published in JAMA Pediatrics, highlighted the trends in homicide rates for juveniles aged 0-17. Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that the rate of children killed in the U.S. increased by about 28 percent in 2020 from 2.2 per 100,000 in 2019 to 2.8 per 100,000 in 2020. Black children and children in the southern United States make up the majority of the homicides, and most of the children are brought to hospitals with gun injuries. The data also revealed that homicide is the leading cause of death for American children.
In an editorial accompanying their research, the study's authors said the data highlighted an alarming public health concern "warranting immediate attention." The team said that child homicides are becoming "more common, not less," despite being "fundamentally preventable." The rate of child homicides has been slowly rising since 2013, a decade-long trend that spiked in the first year of the pandemic. In 2020 2,058 children aged 17 and younger were homicide victims, up from 1,611 in 2019.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
JAMA Pediatrics also published a research letter by pediatric surgeons at the University of Utah School of Medicine. The study compared the number of children admitted to pediatric hospitals in the period leading up to the pandemic to the period starting in April 2020 as the pandemic reached its peak. They found that the number of children seeking treatment for gun injuries increased to 2,759 after April 2020, up from 1,815 during the first period, more than a 50 percent increase.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Theara Coleman has worked as a staff writer at The Week since September 2022. She frequently writes about technology, education, literature and general news. She was previously a contributing writer and assistant editor at Honeysuckle Magazine, where she covered racial politics and cannabis industry news.
-
The week's best photos
In Pictures Firing shells, burning ballots, and more
By Anahi Valenzuela, The Week US Published
-
Damian Barr shares his favourite books
The Week Recommends The writer and broadcaster picks works by Alice Walker, Elif Shafak and others
By The Week UK Published
-
The Great Mughals: a 'treasure trove' of an exhibition
The Week Recommends The V&A's new show is 'spell-binding'
By The Week UK Published
-
DOJ demands changes at 'abhorrent' Atlanta jail
Speed Read Georgia's Fulton County Jail subjects inmates to 'unconstitutional' conditions, the 16-month investigation found
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
China tries to bury deadly car attack
Speed Read An SUV drove into a crowd of people in Zhuhai, killing and injuring dozens — but news of the attack has been censored
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Menendez brothers may go free in LA prosecutor plan
Speed Read Prosecutors are asking for the brothers to be resentenced for the 1989 murder of their parents
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Abercrombie ex-CEO charged with sex crimes
Speed Read Mike Jeffries ran the brand during its heyday from 1992 to 2014
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump criminal trial starts with rulings, reminder
Speed Read The first day of his historic trial over hush money payments was mostly focused on jury selection
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Parents of school shooter sentenced to 10-15 years
Speed Read Jennifer and James Crumbley are the first parents to be convicted in a US mass shooting
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Unlicensed dealers and black market guns
Speed Read 68,000 illegally trafficked guns were sold in a five year period, said ATF
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Bankman-Fried gets 25 years for fraud
Speed Read Former "crypto king" Sam Bankman-Fried will report to federal prison
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published