AAP: One in Four Pediatric Firearm-Related Homicides Occurs at Home

THURSDAY, Oct. 2, 2025 (HealthDay News) -- Nearly one-quarter of U.S. pediatric firearm-related homicides occurred at home in recent years, according to a study published online Sept. 26 in JAMA Surgery to coincide with the annual meeting of the American Academy of Pediatrics, held from Sept. 26 to 30 in Denver.Jordan M. Rook, M.D., Ph.D., from the University of California, Los Angeles, and colleagues analyzed pediatric firearm homicides by location and sociodemographic characteristics. The analysis included child and adolescent victims of firearm-related homicide (aged 0 to 17 years) identified from the National Violent Death Reporting System Restricted Access Database (48 states and the District of Columbia) from 2020 and 2021 and 14 states from 2005 through 2021.The researchers identified 2,196 pediatric firearm-related homicides from 2020 through 2021, with victims having a median age of 16 years (81.5 percent male). Nearly one-quarter of these homicides (24.4 percent) occurred at home. Among younger children (aged 0 to 12 years), more firearm-related homicides occurred at home (63.2 percent). In-home homicides were more often associated with murder–suicide (23.0 versus 1.6 percent of firearm-related homicides occurring outside the home), child abuse (20.1 versus 2.3 percent), and intimate-partner violence (16.8 versus 2.4 percent). For 310 in-home homicides, the assailant relationship was identified and included a parent (41.6 percent), an acquaintance (18.1 percent), a sibling (13.5 percent), and a parent’s intimate partner (11.3 percent). Over time, the incidence of in-home homicide increased from its lowest rate of 0.18 homicides per 100,000 children and adolescents in 2010 to 0.38 homicides per 100,000 in 2021 (β, 0.02)."Given evidence that stronger state firearm laws are associated with fewer pediatric in-home homicides, future advocacy should seek to expand gun laws, including extreme risk protection orders, which may prevent these cases by removing firearms from high-risk households," Rook said in a statement.Abstract/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)Editorial (subscription or payment may be required)More Information.Sign up for our weekly HealthDay newsletter

AAP: One in Four Pediatric Firearm-Related Homicides Occurs at Home

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