WASHINGTON, USA — With the rise of gun violence, many politicians, including Washington Governor Jay Inslee, have stated guns are the leading cause of death in children. Inslee made the comments during a December press conference.
“Gun violence, and this is shocking to me, is the leading cause of death of our young people," Inslee said.
Several viewers, including Bert, asked us to verify Governor Inslee’s statement.
THE QUESTION
Please Verify Gov. Inslee's statement that gun violence is the largest cause of death in children.
THE SOURCES
THE ANSWER
Yes, we can Verify, according to the data from the Gun Violence Archive, in 2022 guns were the leading cause of death in kids in the U.S.
The Gun Violence Archive recorded 1,676 child gun deaths in 2022, the highest number ever recorded.
Mark Bryant, co-founder and executive director of The Gun Violence Archive, said last year was the first time gun violence was the leading cause of death in children, ahead of car accidents and cancer.
"It's several items. There are more guns available. If you have more guns, you’re going to have more guns stolen. You’re going to have more guns that owners fail to properly stow... so they’re easier to steal," Bryant said when asked about reasons for the increase of gun violence involving children.
"You’re going to have more kids – young kids – that find guns that dad thinks are hidden and they’re not... You know, a 4-year-old boy knows exactly where they are," he added.
Washington state, however, does not follow the national trend. According to the Gun Violence Archive, 16 kids died due to guns in 2021. In 2022 that number dropped to 15.
WHAT WE FOUND
During a December press conference, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee spoke about the increase in gun violence against children.
“Gun violence, and this is shocking to me, is the leading cause of death of our young people," Inslee said.
Several viewers reached out to ask if the Governor's statement was true.
The New England Journal of Medicine reports that the top three leading causes of death in children are guns, vehicle crashes, and drug overdoses and poisonings.
CDC data shows gun-related deaths trending up in recent years.
Their latest data is from 2020, when 2,500 kids, ages 17 and under, died from gun-related incidents. That's up from nearly 1,900 deaths in 2019.
According to CDC data, in 2020, gun-related deaths outnumbered car crashes by 800.
However, the CDC’s data is only available through 2020, so, we turned to the Gun Violence Archive for the last two years.
Mark Bryant is the co-founder and executive director of The Gun Violence Archive, which was created in January of 20-14. Their goal is to track in real-time the number of gun-related deaths and injuries across the nation. They do that with a team of 24 researchers in different regions that track things like law enforcement reports – including their social media accounts – along with traditional media accounts.
Their numbers do vary from the CDC, which includes suicides in its numbers, while the Gun Violence Archive does not.
In 2021, the Gun Violence Archive reported 1,573 children were killed in gun-related deaths. In 2022, that number climbed to 1,676 child gun deaths, the highest number ever recorded.
So, we can Verify, that according to the data from the Gun Violence Archive, guns were the leading cause of death in kids in the U.S. in 2022.
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