Key facts about Texas mass shooting incident and America’s complex love affair with guns

May 25, 2022

By: Rahul Verma

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Overview

In the US, guns overtook car crashes to become the leading cause of death for children and teenagers in 2020. Today, 19 children and 2 adults have died in a shooting at a primary school in south Texas.

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More about Texas shooting

The shooter is identified as an 18-year-old man armed with AR-15 semi-automatic rifle and high-capacity magazines. He also died at the scene.

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How many guns are in the US?

America has more guns than any other country in the world. According to National Firearms Survey 2021, 32 percent (81.4 million) of Americans own a firearm.

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Reasons for gun ownership

According to Gallup survey 2019, Hunting- 40 percent | Recreation or sport- 11percent | Family heirloom - 6 percent | Line of work- 5percent. Meanwhile, personal protection tops the list of reasons.

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Number of death due to gun-related injuries in the US

According to US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 45,222 people died from gun-related injuries in 2020.

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Breaking down US gun deaths 2020

54 percent (24,292) of all gun-related deaths were suicides | 43 percent (19,384) were murdered. The Remaining includes 535 unintentional gun deaths, 611 deaths involved law enforcement and 400 deaths that had undetermined circumstances.

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List of deadliest mass shootings in US 2022

In US, 27 school shootings have taken place leading to the death of 140 people. Some of the deadliest mass shootings include Buffalo- May 14, New York- April 12, California- May 15, Houston- May 15 | Milwaukee- May 13 | Brooklyn- April 12 | Sacramento- April 3 | Arkansas- March 19 | Milwaukee- Jan 23.

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Who supports gun law in US?

52 percent of Americans want stricter gun laws, while 35 percent said gun laws should remain the same.

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Favourite guns of Americans

Pistols: Glock G19, Sig Sauer P938, Springfield XD-S | Rifles: DPMS Oracle, Ruger AR-556, Kel-Tec SUB-2000, Colt LE6920, Smith & Wesson M&P15 | Shotguns: Mossberg 590A1, Kel-Tec KSG

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