Guns are now the leading cause of death among children and teenagers in the U.S., according to research published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Researchers analyzed mortality data from the CDC and found that guns killed more people between the ages of 1 and 19 in the U.S. than car crashes, drug overdoses and cancer in 2020.
During that year, 4,300 young people died from gun-related injuries, marking nearly a 30% increase from 2019.
Many of those deaths were a result of homicide.
Firearm homicides increased by 33% from 2019 to 2020, according to the report.
Researchers said they were unclear as to why gun-related deaths went up during the pandemic.
Drug overdose and poisoning also increased among young people in 2020.
COVID-19 deaths accounted for less than 1% of deaths among children and adolescents during 2020.
