Children Becoming Victims to Surging Gun Violence in the United States

In July, an armed individual wielding a gun terrorized a neighborhood and caused the death of a child caught in the crossfire. On Monday, Police Superintendent David Brown repeated what has become customary, the death of a young child due to gun violence.

Child victims of shootings

Brown said that the victim, nine-year-old Janari Ricks, was shot and killed while doing what any young child would have been doing, going out and playing with friends on a sunny day right outside his house. The superintendent said that instead of planning for his future, Rick's parents are planning his funeral.

According to AP News, the year has seen a rise in gun violence that has been left unchecked. In New York City, 237 cases of homicides have been recorded in 2020 compared to last year's 181 cases in the same period.

In Atlanta, while having a lower number of cases totaling 76 homicides compared to last year's 56, the surge has been apparent as 23, nearly one-third of the total cases, were recorded in July alone.

The same statistics could be seen in Boston, where in the first seven months of last year, there have been a total of 25 recorded homicides but had 35 records this year, 15 of which were seen in July.

Despite no concrete number on how many of the victims were children, more and more headlines across the United States tell the grim fate of young kids who are doing nothing more than being children.

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In the span of a little more than a week in Ohio, victims included a young boy from Columbus, 14 years of age, who died on July 25 who was shot while riding his scooter, an infant was shot and killed, and his twin brother was left wounded when assailants shot into their homes on July 22. On August 2, Sunday, a shooter opened fire inside a home, causing the death of a one-year-old child two wounded adults.

The number of child victims in Ohio is unclear, but in Columbus, the total number of grim deaths of young kids total at 13.

Crossfire victims

A shootout between three men resulted in the death of a seven-year-old who was shot in the head amid the violence that was happening in front of their house. The child survived the initial wound but died due to his injuries later on, as reported by US News.

Inspector Sekou Kinebrew, a spokesman for the police, said Zamar Jones died on Monday after getting shot when he was sitting on their porch on Saturday.

Christopher Linder, 27 years old, was one of the men involved in the gunfight. The district's attorney's office said police officers have arrested the suspect and charged him with attempted murder and aggravated assault. He is currently facing renewed charges of murder, but the other suspects have remained elusive.

Philadelphia police authorities revealed that the city had recorded a 36 percent increase in gun violence this year compared to the last. Through Sunday, the number of murder victims totaled 255, an increase of 34 percent compared to last year, which is also more than the annual total of 248 recorded in 2014.