Firearm Mortality Among Pre-school Age Children, 2010-2020

Firearms are a substantial cause of death for pre-school children (ages 0-5 years). The purpose of this study was to characterize fatal firearm violence in this age group. The Web-Based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS) data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) were analyzed for the years 2010-2020. There were 1,220 firearm deaths during the study period with a 75% increase in the rate of deaths per 100,000 population. Most deaths (two-thirds) were among males. Non-Hispanic Blacks comprised 56.4% of all deaths in 2020, a 172% increase from 2010 and the rate for non-Hispanic Whites increased by 15.4% from 2010 to 2020. The majority of the deaths occurred in the South. Almost two-thirds (65.9%) of all firearm deaths were homicides, 30% were unintentional, and 4.1% were undetermined. Homicides were also the majority of deaths for non-Hispanic Blacks (64.9%), non-Hispanic Whites (60.8%), and Hispanics (81.3%). The years of potential life lost before 80 years of age were 94,105, with a plurality (43.3%) of losses occurring among non-Hispanic Black children. Sustained awareness campaigns should be implemented to make parents and guardians aware of the profound dangers of unlocked and loaded or unsafely stored firearms in the home. Child healthcare providers should counsel parents and guardians on firearm safety in households. Public health professionals should advocate for laws that can help protect children from firearm violence (e.g., Domestic Violence Restraining Orders, Child Access Prevention laws, and Extreme Risk Protection Order laws).