More than eight Hispanics die every day from guns in the United States, according to a report by the Center for Violence Policies (VPC) published today.
Since 1999 and 2015, an average of 3,100 Hispanics have died annually because of these contraptions, that is, 8.49 per day, according to the document, dubbed “Hispanic Victims of Lethal Violence of Firearms in the United States.”
The total registered between both dates was 53,788 dead by firearm, of which 66% were homicides (35,553), 29% suicides (15,593) and 2% (981) accidental deaths, while 3% ( 1,661) occurred under indeterminate conditions or by legal actions.
One of the most outstanding data extracted from the report is that the rate of homicide victims among Hispanics, 5.10 per 100,000 inhabitants, almost doubles the rate among whites, which stands at 2.59.
In 2015, 70% of homicides of Hispanics were carried out with firearms, according to the center in a statement.
Murder is, precisely, the second cause of death among young Latinos aged between 15 and 24, while it ranks fourth among whites and the first among African-Americans.
In 2015, of the 3,332 Hispanics who died as a result of firearms, 2,021 were due to homicides, and of these, 87% were men and the remaining 13% were women.
Another element that draws attention is that, as far as murders with firearms are concerned, 39% of Hispanics were attacked by strangers, when among those that took place on the white population accounted for 25.
Of the homicides recorded in 2015, 35% were of Hispanics under the age of 24, an age range that was less affected among those of white race (20%) and more among the African-American population (37).
As a result of the study, the center also calls for improvements in the collection of data related to deaths among Hispanics, since it considers that the limitations in this area mean that the number of actual victims is “certainly superior” to that collected.
In this regard, it recommends that federal agencies obtain complete information about the ethnic origin of the people.
“The numbers of lethal violence with firearms against Hispanics, especially among young people, is a crisis in development,” said VPC director Josh Sugarmann.
The work uses data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and information not published by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) regarding the 50 states of the country.
