CDC: Firearms the leading cause of death for children in 2020
FOX 2 -
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says gun violence is once again the number one killer among children. It seems more and more that children aren’t safe in their homes, neighborhoods, or their schools.
Those are just three of several locations we’ve seen kids shot and/or killed. And there are too many examples in Metro Detroit's own backyard, whether it be the Oxford mass shooting Nov. 30 or more recently, Ariah Jackson.
Ariah, who was just 7 years old, was gunned down after she out of school in Pontiac last month. Her family will never see her 8th birthday, high school graduation or go to prom.
She’ll never start a family of her own because of gun violence - and recent data shows it’s happening around the country.
"When babies die, that means we have failed to do our jobs," said Teferi Brent.
FOX 2: "When you hear that our kids are getting killed before they realize their full potential, what goes through your mind?"
"I’m devastated. of course, it’s not good to just be devastated - we have to move and do something," said Teferi Brent, Dignity 4 Detroit.
Brent's Dignity 4 Detroit is one of several local anti-violence organizations.
A coalition of Detroit activists said, in 2021, that 76 children were shot, and nine died.
That’s why they gathered to speak out in Downtown Detroit earlier this month. Brent says they could also use help from the federal government.
"That money needs to come down, come to the communities. get down to the mud root level, grassroots level leaders and organizers who are actually doing peace work on the ground," he said.
The CDC’s most recent data shows more than 4,300 young people under 19 died nationally of gun-related injuries in 2020. That’s a near 30 percent hike compared to the year before.
It includes young kids finding and using guns in parents’ homes.
"That gun violence is very disturbing to me because it doesn’t have to be that way, if we as adults did the things we needed to do to make sure our children do not get a hold of guns," said Wayne County Sheriff Raphael Washington. "We have to make sure our children are safe. We have to store our weapons properly. That comes through education, making sure you’re properly trained."
Washington says gun lock and storage boxes also help keep guns out of the hands of youngsters too. He adds if you know children are in the house or coming over to your house, it is critical to keep the guns in a place where children can’t get them.
He’s not just speaking as a sheriff, but as a grandparent who owns guns too.
Brent from Dignity 4 Detroit is urging people to call their Congress members and Department of Justice. Call your state reps and senators and let them know the people on the frontlines need resources to stop the violence.
