The increase in juvenile homicides over the past ten years is unequivocally linked to firearms. Until the mid 1980's the rates of juvenile homicide were relatively stable and the weapons used in the offenses were closely split between guns and other weapons. In 1987 that started to change. The number of juvenile homicides with a firearm started to spiral upwards while the number of non-firearm homicides stayed steady or decreased. The homicide data corroborates other data about the prevalence of guns among youth in America.
Teenage boys are more likely to die from gunshot wounds than all natural causes combined.
Homicides involving firearms has been the leading cause of death for black males between ages 15 to 19 since 1969 and that rate more than doubled between 1979 and 1989. In California, firearm deaths became the number one cause of death for juveniles last year. Eric Lotke, National Center on Institutions and Alternatives. Where They Occur and the Effectiveness of Adult Court Intervention, July 16, 1996. U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.