The latest data provides us with a picture of gun deaths among children and youth in the United States in 1998. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Center for Health Statistics is the source of the data on children and youth gun violence. 2,184 were murdered by gunfire. Fifty-eight percent of young people killed by gunfire are victims of homicide. 1,241 committed suicide using a gun - more than three every day.
Guns remain the most common method of suicide for children.
Guns are used in two out of three youth suicides. Thirty-three percent of young people killed by guns take their own lives. 262 died from an unintentional or accidental shooting. Seven percent of young people were victims of an accidental shooting. A study reported in the American Journal of Public Health found that 1.4 million homes with 2.6 million children living in them had firearms that were stored unlocked and loaded or unlocked and unloaded but stored with ammunition.