2021 U.S. firearm homicide and suicide rates were highest since the 1990s, CDC data shows

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(CNN)  — US firearm homicide and suicide rates each increased by more than 8% from 2020 to 2021, according to data published Thursday in the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

 

CDC researchers estimated that there were over 20,000 firearm homicides and over 26,000 firearm suicides in the United States in 2021. The firearm homicide rate was 8.3% higher in 2021 than it was in 2020.

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The percentage of homicides attributed to firearm injuries rose from 79% in 2020 to 81% in 2021, the highest percentage in more than 50 years. For suicides attributable to firearm injuries, the percentage rose from 53% in 2020 to 55% in 2021, the highest percentage since 2001.

 

“The overall U.S. firearm homicide and firearm suicide rates in 2021 were the highest documented since 1993 and 1990, respectively,” the report said.

 

(more)

 

https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/06/health/firearm-homicide-suicide-rates-increase-2021-cdc/index.html

 

 

 

From the source report:

Notes from the Field: Increases in Firearm Homicide and Suicide Rates — United States, 2020–2021

"The firearm homicide rate in the United States increased nearly 35% from 2019 to 2020, coinciding with the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic (1). This increase affected all ages and most population groups, but not equally: existing disparities, including racial and ethnic disparities, widened. The firearm suicide rate was higher than the firearm homicide rate in 2020 and remained consistent with recent years overall; however, increases were observed in some groups (1).

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The overall U.S. firearm homicide and firearm suicide rates in 2021 were the highest documented since 1993 and 1990, respectively. Some racial and ethnic groups experienced substantially higher rates in 2021, and among some groups, disparities continued to widen. This analysis cannot explain the reasons for the increases; however, multiple social and structural conditions are associated with risk for homicide and suicide. Systemic inequities (e.g., in economic, educational, housing, and employment opportunities) and structural racism have contributed to disparities in outcomes, and the COVID-19 pandemic could have worsened these conditions, especially in some racial and ethnic communities (1,2).

 

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/71/wr/mm7140a4.htm

 

[bendejo]

A triumph for the conservatives who always want to go back to the old days.