A new study published in the Journal of Pediatrics says firearm deaths among children reached a new record high in 2021. The study showed between 2018 and 2021 the firearm death rate rose 41.5 percent.
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00:00 The trend of gun deaths among children became the leading cause of death in 2020.
00:04 Now those numbers are increasing according to the study,
00:06 and experts are attributing it to the spike of gun purchases in the pandemic.
00:11 It doesn't surprise me, but it's disappointing.
00:15 You know, it's definitely disappointing.
00:17 A new study published in the Journal of Pediatrics says firearm deaths among children reached a new record high in 2021.
00:24 The study showed 4,752 kids were killed, a rate of 5.8 per 100,000 people in 2021.
00:31 That's an 8.8% increase from the year before.
00:35 I was once one of those kids as well who could have went any direction.
00:39 Kamau Martinez runs a youth foundation in Denver dedicated to keeping kids away from violence by using music education,
00:46 and he has been fighting against youth violence for a decade.
00:49 He says there are many reasons why this trend is increasing.
00:52 The study showed between 2018 and 2021, the firearm death rate rose 41.6%.
00:58 Researchers wrote that, quote, "the spikes in firearm purchasing during the pandemic were substantial,
01:04 resulting in roughly 30 million children living in households with firearms, a known risk factor for pediatric firearm injury."
01:11 White males under 19 were most likely to use guns in suicides,
01:15 but the study reports gun homicides among kids disproportionately affected communities of color, in particular Black boys,
01:22 something Martinez is far too familiar with.
01:24 Where do we start?
01:26 You know, I feel like systematically, you know, we're set up to go to prison instead of work,
01:32 and the prison, the school to prison pipeline, and to take accountability for as a Black man.
01:38 I think, you know, we have a lack of Black male presence and consistent, a consistent presence with our youth and our kids.
01:47 You know, I mean, I think there's a lot of reasons for, you know, the increase.
01:51 Which is why Martinez says more gun control and policy reform is needed on the federal level.
01:56 However, he says it's more important than ever that communities and programs like his exist to keep kids away from violence.
02:03 We have a music soul child program where we teach kids how to express their feelings as well as train them to learn guitar.
02:12 You know what I mean? And I know that's an outlet for some of these kids to where, instead of being upset and angry,
02:18 they come talk about their anger and then learn an instrument, which is a healing instrument.
02:23 You know what I mean? So they could have went out and just expressed their anger in the streets.
02:28 They're important because even if you save one life, that's a life that's worth it.
02:32 Thomas Hoppo, Scripps News, Denver.