data compiled by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2020 alone, 79% of all homicides and 53% of all suicides involved a firearm and while all population groups experienced gun-related deaths, some groups were more impacted than others, the CDC noted.
Nearly 20,000 Americans were killed in gun homicides in 2020, with the rate increasing 4.6 to 6.1 per 100,000 persons. More than 24,000 Americans killed themselves with firearms in the same year, a slight increase over the 23,888 Americans who died by suicide using a firearm in 2019. "The tragic and historic increase in firearm homicide and the persistently high rates of firearm suicide underscore the urgent need for action to reduce firearm-related deaths.
We must work together by taking preventative actions that have both immediate & long-term solutions," Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the CDC, wrote in a tweet on Tuesday.
The CDC did not research the reasoning behind the surge but pointed to "long-standing systemic inequities" and structural racism which limits economic and educational opportunities that the agency said contributes "to unfair and avoidable health disparities among some racial and ethnic groups." "Firearm homicide rates are consistently highest among males, adolescents and young adults, and non-Hispanic Black or African American (Black) and non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Native (AI/AN) persons; firearm suicide rates are highest among males, older adults, and non-Hispanic White (White) and AI/AN persons," according to the health agency.