Juvenile homicide victims by firearm involvement, 1980-2010

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Working for Youth Justice and Safety

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Violent Crime Victimization

Q:	Has the number of juveniles killed with a firearm changed since 1980?
A:	The growth in the number of juveniles murdered using a firearm that began in 2003 was reversed between 2006 and 2010 as the number fell 25% over the last 4 years.

Juvenile homicide victims by firearm involvement, 1980-2010

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Between 1984 and 1993, the number of juveniles killed with a firearm increased more than 200%. By 2003, the number of firearm-related juvenile homicides was 60% below the 1993 peak.
The large drop in the number of juveniles killed with a firearm after 1993 resulted in the overall number of juvenile homicides in 2003 falling to its lowest level since at least 1984.
However, between 2003 and 2006, murders of juveniles by firearms increased 38%, then fell 25% through 2010. In the early 1990s, about 61% of murdered juveniles were killed with a firearm; this percentage fell to 43% in 2001 then reached about 50% in each of the last 3 years.
Firearms were used less often in the killings of young children. In 2010, for example, 14% of homicide victims under age 12 were killed by a firearm while 82% of victims ages 12–17.

Internet citation: OJJDP Statistical Briefing Book. Online. Available: http://www.ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/victims/qa02306.asp?qaDate=2010. Released on July 31, 2012.

Adapted from Puzzanchera, C. and Kang, W. (2012). Easy Access to the FBI's Supplementary Homicide Reports: 1980-2010. Available on-line at: http://ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/ezashr/.

Data Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation. Supplementary Homicide Reports for the years 1980–2010 [machine-readable data files]. Washington, D.C.: FBI.