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Guns caused most deaths among US kids, teens in 2020: Study

Saturday, 23 April 2022 5:15 PM [ Last Update: Saturday, 23 April 2022 6:21 PM ]

Law enforcement officers walk as they secure the school grounds after a shooting at Mansfield Timberview High School in Arlington, Texas, on October 6, 2021. (Photo by Reuters)

A recent study has revealed that more children and teenagers in the United States were killed by guns than any other cause in 2020.

According to the study by researchers from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor cited by Reuters on Friday guns surpassed car crashes as the top cause of death for US children and teens in 2020.

Based on the analysis of recent mortality data by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in America for those aged 19 and under, in the year 2020 guns were the leading cause of death for this age group.

According to the study, which was published in the New England Journal of Medicine as a letter to the editor, it is the first time guns have been the leading cause of death for US children and teens.

In this picture taken in Washington, DC on September 17, 2013, Kyra Murray holds a photo of victims of Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre. (File photo by AFP)

According to data from Everytown for Gun Safety, More than 3,000 children and teens have been shot and killed and 15,000 more have been shot and injured since the Sandy Hook elementary school massacre in 2012.

In remarks commemorating the anniversary of Sandy Hook massacre in December, US Democratic President Joe Biden urged US lawmakers in the Congress to combat gun violence prevention by passing new gun laws to clamp down on gun violence.

Biden calls for action on gun violence prevention on Sandy Hook anniversary

Biden has called on Congress to act on gun violence prevention in remarks commemorating the ninth anniversary of the Sandy Hook elementary school massacre.

However, Biden's rivals in the Republican party, who are expected to win upcoming elections, are opposed to the anti-gun laws he proposes, maintaining such bills infringe on the constitutional rights of gun owners.

Republicans, instead, propose more policing and increased gun ownership to combat the crime surge.

“We see a lot of opportunity” heading into the midterms, said National Rifle Association spokesperson Andrew Arulanandam. “Whether the gun control lobby realizes it or not, there’s an increased appreciation and realization in this country that gun control does not make people safer.”

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