Gun violence has reduced the lifespan of Americans by almost 2.5 years, but the life expectancy for African-Americans is almost double that number, according to a new study.
A Boston University School of Medicine professor looked at federal data on gun deaths from 2000 to 2016 and determined that Black Americans’ life expectancy decreased by 4.14 years to White people’s 2.23 years.
Researchers, according to HuffPost, found that African-Americans were much more likely to die from homicide, frequently before the age of 20. White Americans’ gun-related deaths were due to suicide and found in people who are older.
In recent years, the death of young, unarmed Black men and teens, such as Trayvon Martin, 17, in 2012; Mike Brown, 18, in 2014 and Tamir Rice, who was 12 when he was shot and killed by a police officer in 2014, has gained national attention.
“We know that gun violence is not a unidimensional problem, it’s a multidimensional problem that needs solutions on two ends,” Dr. Bindu Kalesan told HuffPost.
Click here to read more about the study.