US: Firearm violence a health crisis

US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy issued a landmark advisory Tuesday, declaring firearm violence in America a "public health crisis''.

"Our failure to address it is a moral crisis. To protect the health and well-being of Americans, especially our children, we must now act with the clarity, courage and urgency that this moment demands," Murthy said in a video announcement posted on YouTube.

The advisory marked the first time the nation's leading voice on public health — the same office that in the 1960s highlighted the lethal consequences of cigarette smoking — has issued an urgent pronouncement on deaths related to firearms.

Murthy said the impetus for the advisory stems from the increase in gun violence, especially mass shootings since 2020, which he said exact a profound toll on the nation's well-being.

"I want people to understand the full impact of firearm violence in our country, and I want them to see it as a public health issue," Murthy said in an interview with The Washington Post. "I know it's been polarizing, and I know it's been politicized, but if we can see it as a public health issue, we can come together and implement a public health solution."

Murthy said that as a doctor, he has witnessed the consequences of firearm violence up close, and the 40-page advisory he put out "outlines the urgent threat firearm violence poses to the health and well-being of our country".

While many applauded the advisory, gun rights groups and individuals attacked it with profanities in their social media posts.

The Firearm Policy Coalition also used profanities and called the advisory "a joke" under a headline of "Second Amendment alert".

According to the advisory, firearm-related injuries have experienced a sharp rise since the pandemic. They have surpassed car accidents to become the leading cause of death for Americans ages 1 to 19 since 2020. More than 4,600 young people died of firearm violence in 2022, 1,000 more than in 2019 and earlier.

In 2022, a total of 48,204 people died from firearm injuries, including suicides, homicides and accidents. That was 8,000 more than in 2019, and 16,000 more over 2010, according to the advisory.

"Fifty-four percent of adults in America report that they or a family member have experienced a firearm-related incident, whether they've been personally threatened with or injured by a firearm, lost a family member, witnessed a shooting, or shot a firearm in self-defense," said Murthy. The findings are from a recent survey.

Murthy said that firearm-related trauma and fear are contributing to mental health challenges. "Nearly 6 in 10 US adults say they worry about a loved one being a victim of firearm violence," he said.

Across all firearm-related deaths in 2022, more than half — 56.1 percent — were from suicide, while 40.8 percent were from homicide.

While the numbers fluctuate year to year, the overall trend is worrisome, according to the advisory. It noted that when measured over a decade from 2012 to 2022, children and the young populations experienced a staggering increase in firearm-related suicide rates: 43 percent for 25-34-year-olds, 45 percent for 15-24-year-olds, and 68 percent for children ages 10-14. Overall, firearm suicide increased by 20 percent across the population.

The advisory compared US firearm violence with 28 other high-income nations and said that in 2015, the overall firearm-related death rate in age groups across the 29 countries was 11.4 times higher in the US.

In that year, 83.7 percent of all firearm-related deaths across the countries studied occurred in the US, which accounted for about 31 percent of the combined population.

Mass shootings and school shootings create collective trauma and fear, the advisory said. It cited data by the Gun Violence Archive that the US experienced more than 600 mass shooting incidents each year between 2020 and 2023, up an average of less than 400 annual mass shootings between 2015 and 2018.

As a result, 51 percent of US teens ages 14-17 said they worry about a shooting happening at school, and 79 percent of adults said they experienced stress from a possible mass shooting, while a third said the fear of a mass shooting kept them from going to certain public places or events.

Of all firearm-related incidents, active shootings result in a large number of deaths and injuries in one incident. According to the FBI, such incidents are also on a sharp rise based on data from the past decade.

The agency released data on Monday showing that 229 active-shooter incidents occurred from 2019 to 2023, representing an 89 percent increase over the 121 such incidents from the previous five-year period of 2014-2018.

The FBI recorded 48 active shooter incidents for 2023. Although the incidents decreased by two over 2022, the number of active-shooter incidents increased 60 percent since 2019, when there were 30 incidents.

The 48 active-shooter incidents in 2023 occurred across 26 states and happened in five location categories, including open space, commerce, education, healthcare and residence, according to the FBI.

Overall, 244 victims were shot by active shooters last year, with 139 injured and 105 killed.

The worst 2023 active-shooting incident happened in Maine in October, which left 18 people dead and 13 injured.

Agencies contributed to this story.