The health and economic costs of American gun violence are rising each year, according to a new report from The National Institute for Health Care Management (NIHCM).
The report, which illustrates the detrimental impact of ongoing gun violence on communities and the nation, offers journalists an opportunity to tackle this topic in a deeper way. For example, understanding who the victims are, how much gun violence costs for the individual and society at large, and the types of shooting incidents can inspire multiple story ideas.
The number of people killed by firearm violence, a leading cause of premature death, grew by nearly 43% between 2010 and 2020.
2024 NIHCM Report
For example, check out this 2015 sweeping report from Mother Jones, this article from CNN on when gun violence replaced car crashes as the leading cause of death for children, and this story from The Trace: “In Philadelphia, Shootings Are Starting to Slow — Except Among Kids and Teens.”
Reporting on this data also helps journalists avoid the typical episodic coverage of gun violence by putting shootings into context and providing more useful information.
Staggering statistics
Over 42,000 people died as the result of gun injuries in the U.S. in 2023, NIHCM reports. The number of people killed by firearm violence, a leading cause of premature death, grew by nearly 43% between 2010 and 2020.
For every person killed in a shooting, more than two people survive. In 2023, 35% of gun deaths were homicides, 56% were suicides, nearly 4% were unintentional shootings, 3% were police shootings and less than 2% were mass shootings, according to the report.
The report also delves more deeply into mass shootings. While these events tend to capture the public’s attention the most, mass shootings make up very few of the annual gun deaths in the U.S. But the annual total of mass shootings has spiked from 414 in 2019 to over 650 in 2023.
Health and financial strains
The cost of gun violence was more than $557 billion in 2022. That figure is based on medical and quality-of-life costs, criminal justice costs, the loss of income because of death, disability, incarceration and loss of caregivers, and employers’ loss of revenue.
Gun violence also strains health care systems — survivors increase hospitalizations and spending by 1,449% and 1,713%, respectively.
Mental illness is often unfairly associated with gun violence, but a minority of mass shooters have mental illness, the report explains. While suicide risk is heightened for people with certain mental illnesses, fewer than half of all people who take their own life have a known mental illness diagnosis.
The NIHCM report also explained the health consequences shooting survivors face, especially children. (Check out this article I wrote about the health and economic impacts gun violence has on kids and their families.)
Nearly 80% of children and adolescents who are shot survive, the report states. They often go on to live with a wide range of health problems, including chronic pain, substance abuse and psychiatric disorders.
In 2020, gun violence replaced motor vehicle crashes as the leading cause of death for people under the age of 19. And that trend has continued, according to the report. In 2021, 6.1 deaths per 100,000 people under the age of 19 were related to firearms, and 5.7 of 100,000 were due to car crashes.
In response to the number of deaths and injuries from car crashes, major legislation was enacted to improve motor vehicle safety over time. According to the report, there has not been major federal legislation on gun violence since 1994. That changed recently when Congress passed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act in 2022.
The wide-ranging bill provided funding for mental health services, community violence prevention and school safety, restricted gun access for domestic abusers, enabled states to enact red flag laws and toughened background checks for younger gun purchasers.
Resources
- Gun Violence Archive is a nonprofit that provides comprehensive and detailed data on gun violence incidents in the U.S. The online archive collects information on incidents from 7,500 law enforcement, media, government and commercial sources daily to provide near-real-time data about gun violence. The data sets allow users to break down by demographics, including ages
- Everytown for Gun Safety is a nonprofit that advocates for stronger policies to prevent firearm violence, endorses “gun sense” candidates and supports research on the causes of firearm violence and solutions. The group was formed in 2013 by merging Mayors Against Illegal Guns and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America.
- Contact: Zoë Wilson-Meyer, zwilsonmeyer@everytown.org
- Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions is the recent merger of two leading research institutions: the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Prevention and Policy and the Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence. The collaboration brings together respected gun violence researchers and prevention advocates to examine and promote policies and programs to improve community safety.
- Contact: Joe McHugh, joemchugh@jhu.edu
