Four out of every 10 gun deaths in U.S. cities are suicides: analysis

NEW YORK, Sept. 13 (Xinhua) -- Four out of every 10 gun-related deaths in U.S. cities were suicides, an 11 percent increase since 2014, NYU Langone Health said last week, citing an analysis of firearm deaths in more than 750 U.S. cities from 2014 through 2020.

Firearm homicide rates in U.S. cities also increased by approximately 18 percent, with a steep increase in 2020, it reported.

This toll reflects the consequences of years of easing restrictions on gun ownership and on carrying firearms in public, and of a sharp spike in gun sales during the first year of the pandemic, the authors of the analysis were quoted as saying.

These new analyses identify which cities had the most significant increases and decreases in both suicide and homicide firearm deaths, providing the most complete data on city-level firearm-related homicide and suicide rates, now available publicly.

The findings are the result of a research collaboration between NYU Langone Health's City Health Dashboard and the Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund, the country's largest gun violence prevention organization.