Gun violence claiming more lives of American children and teens

Gun violence has taken more lives in the United States with new reports saying that it is killing an increasing number of American children, from toddlers caught in crossfires to teenagers gunned down in turf wars and drug squabbles among others.

Child and teen shooting deaths have been on the rise in recent years, and 2021 is no exception. Experts say idleness caused by the COVID-19 pandemic shares the blame with easy access to guns.

A report from the Children’s Defense Fund found that child and teen shooting deaths reached a 19-year high in 2017 and have remained elevated. African American children and teenagers were four times more likely than their white counterparts to be fatally shot.

The fund’s president and CEO, the Rev. Starsky Wilson, said a spike in gun sales during the pandemic has made things worse.

“There are more guns available on the street and there are folks with less opportunity to engage in productive activity. A combination of those two is really challenging,” Wilson said.

LeGend Taliferro, a 4-year-old boy, was sleeping on the floor in an apartment in Kansas City, Missouri, when he was shot on June 29, 2020. A man who had been involved in a dispute with LeGend’s father is awaiting trial for second-degree murder.

A probable cause statement said the suspected shooter had been trying to find LeGend’s dad after that altercation, the Los Angeles Times said.

According to the website Gun Violence Archive, the US saw 991 gun violence deaths among people 17 or younger in 2019. The website, which tracks shootings from more than 7,500 law enforcement, media, government and commercial sources, said the number spiked to 1,375 in 2020 and this year is on pace to be worse. Shootings had claimed 1,179 young lives and left 3,292 youths injured as of Monday.

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FBI also released a report on Sept. 28 showing homicides in the US increased nearly 30% in 2020, and homicides among people ages 19 and younger rose more than 21%.

Jamari Williams and Kentrell McNeal, both 15-year-old students at Simeon Career Academy High School in Chicago, were killed in separate shootings Sept. 21. No arrests have been made.

At Philadelphia’s Simon Gratz High School Mastery Charter, five students were killed and nine others were shot or shot at during the last school year. Just weeks into the new school year, two students and a recent graduate have also been killed.

“We have gotten exceptionally good at knowing what to do, and how to offer help when a young person loses their life ... we have gotten really good at that,” principal Le’Yondo Dunn said.

Experts say social media also play a role in US teen shooting deaths. A posted insult can turn quickly into retaliation, said Jason Smith, a homicide division captain in Philadelphia.

“Social media makes it so easy to throw that disrespect,” Smith said. “They’re doing it in real time.”

In Philadelphia, Chief Inspector Frank Vanore said police also monitor social media and if they’re aware of a feud, a team of officers and community leaders meet with those involved in the dispute.

16-year-old boy killed, 2 kids hurt in shooting at school bus stop in Louisville: Police

Two teenagers were shot, one fatally, while waiting for their school bus in Kentucky Wednesday morning, police said.

While small children are often caught in the crossfire, teenagers are gunned down in broad daylight on streets or most commonly targeted — often by other teenagers — in drive-by shootings on interstate highways.

Studies have shown that victims of violence are at an elevated risk of becoming violent themselves.

So St. Louis Children’s Hospital developed its Victims of Violence program that seeks to reduce recidivism by pairing surviving shooting victims with mentors and offering counseling, mediation and a link to social service agencies.

With the COVID-19 virus numbers fading in the US, gun violence has returned with the same force and ferocity as before, pushing the demand for protection.

This year, the US has averaged more than one mass shooting a day, marking an upward trend since the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in December 2012 in Newtown, Connecticut, when a 20-year-old man shot and killed 26 people, including 20 children.

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