Pandemic stress, gangs, utter fear fueled rise in U.S. teen shootings: Idaho Capital Sun

Passersby walk past gun-free zone signages near Times Square in New York, the United States, Sept. 1, 2022. (Photo by Michael Nagle/Xinhua)

The number of children under 18 who killed someone with a firearm jumped from 836 in 2019 to 1,150 in 2020.

NEW YORK, March 14 (Xinhua) -- U.S. adolescents exposed to gun violence are twice as likely as others to perpetrate a serious violent crime within two years, perpetuating a cycle that can be hard to interrupt, the Idaho Capital Sun on Monday cited research results.

"The news media focuses heavily on mass shootings and the mental state of the people who commit them. But there is a far larger epidemic of gun violence -- particularly among Black, Hispanic, and Native American youth -- ensnaring some kids not even old enough to get a driver's license," said the report.

Research shows that chronic exposure to trauma can change the way a child's brain develops. Trauma also can play a central role in explaining why some young people look to guns for protection and wind up using them against their peers, according to the report.

"The number of children under 18 who killed someone with a firearm jumped from 836 in 2019 to 1,150 in 2020," it said.

However, researchers who analyze crime statistics stress that teens are not driving the overall rise in gun violence, which has increased across all ages. In 2020, 7.5 percent of homicide arrests involved children under 18, a slightly smaller share than in previous years, it added.