Record U.S. gun violence included 3,500 shooting victims in NY. What happened in your county?

Gun violence hit record levels nationally in 2021 − including 3,500 shooting victims in New York − that resulted in generational damage to the economy, families and communities, a new study found.

An estimated 158,216 people in the United States were killed or injured by guns in 2021, or 48 victims for every 100,000 people, according to the research by United Hospital Fund and Boston Consulting Group.

Among the national findings:

• The firearm violence resulted in an estimated $2.2 billion per year in direct medical costs, as well as $47 billion in lifetime income lost and $563 billion in quality-adjusted life years lost.
• More than half of all firearm deaths are suicides, and 85% of suicide attempts by gun are successful, compared with less than 3% of suicide attempts by drug overdose.
• Race, age, gender, and ZIP code determine how likely you are to die from gun violence. White men over 50 in rural areas are most likely to die by gun suicide, while gun homicide is the leading cause of death for Black men in their early 20s.
• 32% of gun homicide victims are Black, though Black people make up only 14% of the overall population.
• Black women were nine times as likely to be killed by guns as white women and 4.5 times as likely as Hispanic women. When a gun is involved, domestic violence is five times more likely to result in death.

How many firearms deaths, injuries in NY?

The tally of more than 48,000 firearm deaths nationally in 2021, including roughly 1,000 fatalities in New York, hit the highest level since 1981, when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention started tracking the deadly shootings.

Still, New York ranked 48th lowest in terms of its per-capita gun victims, with about 18 victims per 100,000 residents. By contrast, the national rate was 48 victims per 100,000 residents, which far exceeds that of other high-income countries, the study found.

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Southern states have the highest per-capita firearm victim rates, including the top two of Mississippi and Louisiana, at about 105 and 92 victims per 100,000 residents, respectively.

Overall between 2018 and 2021, several upstate New York counties had among the highest firearm death rates in the state.

Among the findings:

• Rural Allegany and Delaware counties had the highest rates, each recording about 14 people killed by guns per 100,000 residents. More than 84% of firearms deaths in those two counties were the result of suicides.
• The other counties among the highest rates between about 8 and 14 people killed by guns per 100,000 residents include Monroe, Oneida, Erie, Sullivan, Steuben, Chenango, and Fulton.
• Other regional counties falling between about 4 and 7 deaths per 100,000 residents included Orange, Dutchess, Broome and Ontario.
• Westchester and Rockland counties were in the group with less than roughly 4 deaths per 100,000 residents.

Meanwhile, New York lawmakers have taken a range of actions in recent years seeking to curb gun violence, including strengthening its red flag law and banning guns from some public places.

For further details on the study, visit the United Hospital Fund website at uhfnyc.org.