500 U.S. children killed, 7,500 injured by gunshots Each Year
Researches have these numbers in a new study.
Lead study author Dr. Arin L. Madenci and colleagues reviewed statistics from the Kids’ Inpatient Database from 1997, 2000, 2003, 2006 and 2009 for a total of 36 million pediatric hospital admissions and estimated state household gun ownership using the most recent Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data.
During that period, hospitalizations from gunshot wounds increased from 4,270 to 7,730, and in-hospital deaths from 317 to 503.
“Handguns account for the majority of childhood gunshot wounds and this number appears to be increasing over the last decade,” Madenci said in a statement. “Furthermore, states with higher percentages of household firearm ownership also tended to have higher proportions of childhood gunshot wounds, especially those occurring in the home.”
