This Year, Over 1,000 Children Under 12 in the US Injured or Killed in Gun Incidents

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] The British newspaper The Times reported on the 30th (local time) that the number of casualties under the age of 12 who were shot in the United States this year has exceeded 1,000.

The Times cited data from the US 'Gun Violence Archive' and reported that as of the 29th, 308 children under the age of 12 died and 738 were injured, totaling 1,046 victims of gun incidents.

This surpasses last year's record of 999 and is the highest number since the Gun Violence Archive began keeping records in 2014.

During the same period, the number of minors aged 12 to 17 who were killed or injured by gunshot wounds also increased to 4,552, exceeding last year's previous record of 4,142.

Regardless of age group, a total of 20,527 people lost their lives to gun incidents this year. This figure includes suicides and accidental shootings. This also surpasses last year's previous record of 19,411.

According to The Times, most US states do not mandate locking devices when storing firearms, and with children spending more time at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, gun accidents have increased.

The Giffords Law Center, founded by former US House Representative and gunshot survivor Gabrielle Giffords, stated that half of gun owners store firearms without locking devices and emphasized the need for stronger regulations.

Additionally, there were 687 'mass shooting incidents' involving four or more casualties this year. Last year, there were 611 mass shooting incidents.

Various causes have been pointed out for the increase in gun accidents. The rapid rise in gun ownership rates in the US, lax verification of gun ownership qualifications, and a phenomenon where personal grudges are settled privately amid distrust of the police have all contributed to the surge in gun incidents.

A representative of the US 'Children's Defense Fund' said, "In 2018, more children died from gun accidents than from traffic accidents," and added, "Measures must be taken to resolve the ongoing gun violence crisis."

The Times also reported an incident on Christmas Day, the 25th, where a 3-year-old girl was found with a gunshot wound to the head inside a guest's car at a home in North Carolina. The child was airlifted to a nearby hospital for treatment but died three days later. It was investigated that the girl accidentally fired the gun while playing with it.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.