Child firearm injuries doubled during pandemic

Hospital emergency departments saw child firearm injuries nearly double during the pandemic, a new study found.

The study, published Nov. 6 in Pediatrics, compared firearm injury visits from children younger than 18 at nine urban hospitals. Researchers compared data recorded between January 2017 and February 2020 to data recorded between March 2020 and November 2022.

Here are four key findings:

1. The number of firearm injury emergency visits went from 694 pre-pandemic to 1,210 during the pandemic.
   
   
2. Injuries increased in children aged 10 and older.
   
   
3. The rate of injury was worse for Black and Latino youth.
   
   
4. Emergency visits for youth increased for those from under-resourced neighborhoods as well as from wealthier areas.