Who commits gun violence in America? Data, experts say all ages. - USA TODAY

A 6-year-old student. A 72-year-old man. 

They are 2 radical separated by decades and thousands of miles, but agreed successful 1 tragic fact: Both made nationalist quality successful January aft authorities said they committed horrific weapon violence.

The opposition — similar galore facts astir America's weapon epidemic — is some striking and predictable. This doesn't hap successful different countries, experts say. It happens each the clip here, but often hidden from nationalist view. Children, successful particular, are acold much apt to sprout themselves, a friend or household subordinate accidentally, usually wrong a home.

"It's the guns. It's ever been the guns," said Lisa Geller, a nationalist wellness researcher astatine the Center for Gun Violence Solutions astatine Johns Hopkins University.

While different affluent countries person akin levels of interpersonal violence, the United States stands unsocial erstwhile it comes to shootings. An mean of 110 Americans dice regular from weapon violence, acold supra the complaint of weapon deaths for immoderate comparable nation. The U.S. has astir 12 weapon deaths for each 100,000 residents, astir 4 times the complaint of the next-highest country, Switzerland, according to experts.

NEWS: A 6-year-old changeable his teacher successful Virginia. School administrators 'could not beryllium bothered' to heed warnings that day, lawyer says.

GALLERY: Monterey Park shooting leaves astatine slightest 11 dead

A child. A 72-year-old man. Authorities accidental some utilized guns in January attacks.

On Jan. 6, a 6-year-old pupil at Richneck Elementary School successful Newport News, Virginia, pulled retired a handgun and changeable his teacher. The shooting followed respective reports that time the lad had threatened radical with the gun, according to the injured teacher's attorney. The boy took the weapon from home, according to authorities. Teacher Abigail Zwerner has notified the schoolhouse territory she plans to sue.

And connected Jan. 21, a 72-year-old antheral attacked a Monterey Park, California, creation hallway helium utilized to patronize, according to authorities, sidesplitting 11 people. Witnesses accidental helium whitethorn person been aggravated astatine immoderate of the dancers helium utilized to know, and that helium utilized a modified pistol with a high-capacity mag to sprout 42 times into the crowd.

BACKGROUND: California wide shooting fishy is oldest successful US recorded history, researchers say

Who commits weapon violence?

Americans of galore antithetic ages perpetrate weapon violence, but not each of that unit occurs successful nationalist oregon receives media attention. 

News sum often focuses connected shootings committed against different radical — particularly random nationalist shootings and those committed with battle weapons. But that's lone portion of America's weapon problem.

• Murders are often committed by radical property 17 to 30, according to David Hemenway, prof astatine Harvard School of Public Health.  
• Most mass shootings were carried retired by achromatic shooters, according to the informatics radical Statista. Mass shootings are conscionable a tiny subset of each weapon unit though.
• Gun-related termination deaths are typically older achromatic men, Hemenway said. Data shows these deaths are acold much communal than nationalist shootings. While men and women effort termination astatine astir akin levels, men are much apt to usage a gun, and frankincense much apt to dice earlier idiosyncratic tin prevention them.
• Accidental shootings, astatine times deadly, are often perpetrated by children, according to the gun-limits radical Everytown for Gun Safety. Last twelvemonth children committed astatine slightest 321 accidental shootings, sidesplitting 143 people.
• More than 100 kids dice accidentally from guns each year, a 2015 survey by Hemenway found. Almost each of them were male, and typically wrong the location of household oregon a friend. 

Are determination radical differences successful weapon violence?

Two wide shootings successful California — the Monterey Park onslaught and the killings astatine Half Moon Bay — brought nationalist attraction to weapon unit committed against radical of Asian descent.

Nationally, weapon unit wrong the AAPI assemblage is importantly little than the average, with the assemblage accounting for astir 7% of the wide U.S. colonisation but conscionable 2% of full weapon deaths. However, that fig is rising, according to the Giffords Center: From 2016-2020, AAPI weapon deaths roseate astir 10%, driven mostly by important increases successful termination deaths.

When it comes to victims, Black Americans are doubly arsenic apt arsenic achromatic Americans to dice from weapon unit and 14 times much apt than achromatic Americans to beryllium wounded, according to the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. Although determination person been important numbers of nationalist wide shootings successful the past fewer years, gun-related termination deaths among Black Americans has besides risen rapidly: While termination deaths by guns among achromatic Americans roseate 1% from 2016-2020, it roseate 25% among communities of color, according to the CDC.