Firearms kill equivalent of classroom a day

The number of children and teens who die from gun violence on any given day in this country would fill a high school classroom.

That sobering fact comes from the American Academy of Pediatrics report on children and gun violence published in the journal “Pediatrics” and presented at a recent annual meeting of the AAP reported in the organization newsletter “Pediatric News.”

“Each day, 28 U.S. children and teens — the equivalent of a high school classroom — die from gun violence, making it the No. 1 killer of youth through age 24,” AAP said in a statement. The organization noted that the death rate is significantly higher than in all other high-income nations combined, “largely due to an alarming increase in suicides and homicides that do not make national headlines.”

School shootings, horrific as they are, account for less than 1 percent of the firearm deaths of children. Likewise, street violence and crimes are not responsible for the largest share of firearm deaths. Among children 12 and younger, about 85 percent of firearm deaths occur at homes, AAP reported. Teen firearm deaths are about as likely to occur at home as on the street, data showed.

“School shootings represent a relatively new phenomena over the last half-century” and are more prevalent in the US than any other developed nation. The rate of school shootings has greatly increased from about one a year two decades ago to about one a week from 2013-15. However, school shootings are still a very small portion of gun deaths among children and teens.

“Many firearm tragedies escape public attention because they occur in a home, sometimes in a child’s own home or at a friend’s house, or their neighbor’s or grandparent’s residence,” said one of the study’s authors, Dr. Eric Fleegler of Boston Children’s Hospital.

The great majority of firearm deaths are intentional. Only a small percentage are accidental shootings. Homicides account for 58 percent of youth firearm deaths and suicides account for 37 percent.

The contrast to other countries is startling: In 2015, more than 7,200 youths in the U.S. were killed by firearms compared to 685 in 28 other highly developed countries combined, AAP reported.

“This is not a simple problem and it cannot be fixed with a simple solution,” said Dr. Lois Lee in the AAP news release. The report said emphasis should be on guidance and education to families on safely storing and handling guns, as well as on legislation to improve gun ownership safety. Identifying and addressing mental health issues among youth is also seen as critical.

AAP recommended actions include:

• mental health screenings and safe gun storage education as part of routine patient visits;

• increased funding for violence intervention programs in hospital and community settings;

• regulation of firearms like other consumer products with requirements that address training, licensing, insurance coverage, registration of individuals purchasing firearms, and safe storage;

• use of technology that allows only authorized users to pull the trigger;

• universal background checks that use federal databases and information from local police before all gun purchases;

• extreme risk protection order laws or “red flag laws” that prohibit those at risk for harming themselves or others from purchasing or owning a gun, and

• more funding for firearms injury and prevention research.

The AAP suggestions point to the need for a full community response in both mental health and firearm security issues. And, the comparison to statistics in other high-income countries should shock into action parents, teachers, community leaders, doctors, and all who interact with children and youth.

There is no debate here. No threat to Second Amendment, no political movement to ban one type of firearm or another. There is only the reality that each day children and youth are killed by firearms in this country, not by mass shooters or terrorists but by acts of violence or desperation within families and friends. The losses are heartbreaking. As a society and as communities, we must do more to stop firearm deaths of children. To do nothing is shameful for all of us.