GW Experts Available: Record Number of Gun Deaths Among U.S. Children in 2021

WASHINGTON (August 24, 2023) – Guns killed a record number of U.S. children in 2021, an increase of almost 42% from 2018, according to a new study analyzing CDC data. The study, published in the journal American Academy of Pediatrics, found 4,752 children died from a firearm injury in 2021; nearly half of those who died in 2021 were Black and about 85 percent were males.

Faculty experts at the George Washington University are available to offer insight and analysis on this news.

Wendy Ellis is an assistant professor in Global Health and the director of the Center for Community Resilience at the Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University. She is an expert on how gun violence can lead to long term trauma and other health problems for children, parents and others living in affected communities. She can discuss efforts to curb gun violence beyond gun control or improved law enforcement of gun laws.

Mark Edberg is a professor of Prevention and Community Health at Milken Institute School of Public Health. A cultural anthropologist with a focus on public health, his research focuses on violence prevention efforts and the social causes of firearm violence.

Elizabeth Choma, clinical assistant professor at the GW School of Nursing, is a pediatric nurse practitioner whose work focuses on firearm safety education in families. Specifically, she aims to teach families and the community to utilize the “Asking Saves Kids” Campaign and educate families about the dangers of unsafely stored firearms. Her latest work published in the Journal of Pediatric Health Care discusses a community educational intervention approach to improve firearm safety behaviors in families.