Violent Crime Victimization

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), Serving Children, Families, and Communities

Printer-friendly

Q:	Has the number of juveniles killed with a firearm changed since 1980?
A:	After about a decade of substantial decline, the number of juveniles murdered using a firearm increased in 2004, 2005, and 2006.

Juvenile homicide victims by firearm involvement, 1980-2006

[ Text only ] [ Excel file ]

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.
Between 2003 and 2006, while nonfirearm-related murders declined 4%, murders of juveniles by firearms increased 36%. In the early 1990s, about 61% of murdered juveniles were killed with a firearm; this percentage fell to 43% in 2001 and rose to 53% in 2006.
Firearms were used less often in the killings of young children. In 2006, for example, firearms were used in 15% of murders of juveniles under age 12 but in 81% of the murders of juveniles ages 12–17.

Internet citation: OJJDP Statistical Briefing Book. Online. Available: http://ojjdp.ncjrs.gov/ojstatbb/victims/qa02306.asp?qaDate=2006. Released on October 24, 2008.

Adapted from Puzzanchera, C. and Kang, W. (2008). Easy Access to the FBI's Supplementary Homicide Reports: 1980-2006. Available on-line at: http://ojjdp.ncjrs.gov/ojstatbb/ezashr/.

Data Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation. Supplementary Homicide Reports for the years 1980–2006 [machine-readable data files]. Washington, D.C.: FBI.