Gun violence in the U.S. surged in 2020 as the country grappled with the Covid-19 pandemic, deep political divisions and social unrest, and social isolation.
Using Centers for Disease Control and Prevention mortality data, the analysis revealed that overall firearm-related deaths increased by 15 per cent in 2020 to 45,222, the highest number ever recorded by the CDC since it began tracking firearm deaths in 1968.
The figure includes 4,368 young people who died from gun-related injuries -- an average of 12 children and teenagers every day.
As America grieves its latest mass shooting, the Department of Justice reports that domestic firearms makers produced over 139 million guns for the commercial market between 2000-2020.
The United States is the only nation where civilian guns outnumber people. With 120.5 firearms per 100 people, the U.S. has the highest rate of civilian gun ownership -- more than double that of the Falkland Islands and Yemen, the second and third-placed countries combined.
U.S. deaths from gun violence are about four per 100,000 people, eight times greater than Canada’s, with the seventh-highest gun ownership rate.
