© Xinhua
U.S.-TEXAS-DALLAS-GUN SHOW
NEW YORK (77WABC) — The leading cause of premature death from trauma in the U.S.? Guns.
A new study finds guns have overtaken car crashes as the number one cause of premature death from trauma. The data is from the annual national vital statistics report — which takes into account death certificates from each state.
The report finds gun suicides are highest in older white men, while gun homicides are highest in young black men.
Gun suicides among women increased by 31.5% over the study period and gun homicides rose by just under 10%. Black women lost more potential years of life to gun homicide than to gun suicide. Statistics also say gun deaths are up overall, while deaths from car crashes are down over a ten year period from 2009 to 2018.
The annual percentage change in gun deaths increased by 0.72 every year, while the annual percentage change in car crash deaths fell by 0.07 every year. Regionally, the south had the highest cumulative total of potential years of life lost due to guns at 5.7 million, followed by the Midwest and the west.
