Gun violence in US surges 30% in last year

Washington, US | Xinhua |  Rates of gun violence in the United States surged by almost a third during last year’s COVID-19 pandemic, according to a study published Thursday in Scientific Reports.

Researchers identified around 51,000 incidents of gun violence across the United States during the 13-month period of the pandemic, from March 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021, up from nearly 39,000 during the preceding 13-month period.

The researchers suggested that the psychological and economic stresses from the pandemic, alongside soaring firearm sales, could be responsible for the sharp increase, calling on officials to be aware of the “unintended social and economic” stresses of measures like stay-at-home orders and social distancing.