Children and teens are more likely to die by guns than anything else

By Annette Choi, CNN

(CNN) — Guns continue to be the leading cause of death for US children and teens since surpassing car accidents in 2020.

Firearms accounted for 18% of childhood deaths (ages 1 to 18) in 2023, the most recent year for which data is available from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Wonder database. About 3,500 children died in gun-related incidents that year. That’s about 5 children lost for every 100,000 children in the United States. In no other comparable country are firearms within the top four causes of mortality among children, according to a KFF analysis.

There have been at least 18 school shootings in the United States as of May 1 this year, with 12 occurring on college campuses and six on K-12 school grounds, according to a CNN analysis.

Adolescent deaths from opioid use, classified as poisonings by the CDC, have also increased in recent years. All poisonings accounted for 7.3% of child and teen deaths in 2023 — double the rate from five years prior.

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CNN’s Deidre McPhillips contributed to this report.