More than 75,000 U.S. children sought treatment at emergency rooms due to gun-related injuries from 2006-2014, according to a study covered by the Los Angeles Times.
The study — published in JAMA Pediatrics and led by researchers from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore — examined incidence of and charges related to the emergency department and inpatient management of gun-related injuries from 2006-2014. It involved U.S. children younger than age 18.
The researchers used the Nationwide Emergency Department Sample database of hospital ER visits and found 11.3 per 100,000 U.S. children under age 18visited the hospital ER after being shot. This number represents the average incidence of firearm-related ER visits during the study period. About 86 percent of the gunshot victims were male, and the average age was about 15.
The study found 6 percent of U.S. shooting victims under age 18 who visited the hospital ER died of their gun-related injuries, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Forty-nine percent of U.S. children who visited the hospital ER for gun-related injuries were reportedly shot during assaults, 39 percent were shot during accidents involving guns and 2 percent were suicides.
Access the Los Angeles Times report here and the original study here.