Health

Six people died in the April 3 shooting in Sacramento, and the spring holiday weekend saw at least four mass shootings across the country. Gun sales surged during the pandemic, while the White House recently announced a crackdown on untraceable “ghost guns.”

Around the country, gun purchases, which surged in 2020, have begun to level off, at least when measured by the number of federal background checks, a proximate measure of Americans’ gun-buying habits.

The sharp rise in unemployment during the five months of the pandemic was associated with an increase in firearm violence and homicide in 16 American cities.

Research led by UC Davis Professor Garen Wintemute shows that violence indirectly impacts most Californians. Though relatively few may experience or witness a violent act, a large majority of surveyed Californians reported having an “experience of violence” (EV).

During the first five months of the pandemic in 2020, low-income communities of color experienced significantly greater increases in firearm violence, homicides and assaults compared to more affluent, white neighborhoods. Those are the findings of a new study from the Violence Prevention Research Program (VPRP) at UC Davis.

Dr. Garen Wintemute and David Studdert share their opinion on gun violence as a public health problem.

One of the foremost experts on firearm violence in the U.S. is sounding the alarm that the rise in gun purchases, violence and political extremism is putting America at risk for disaster in the coming months.

To get a better understanding of why there’s been an increase in shootings this summer, KCRA spoke to Dr. Garen Wintemute with the UC Davis Center for Violence Prevention Research. 

Gunfire deaths began to rise in April 2020, when covid-19 shut down much of the country, in-person schooling was paused and more than 20 million people lost their jobs.

California is one of 20 states that allow gun restraining orders, in which the government can take away a person’s firearm if they’re believed to be a threat to themselves or others. The California program, known as the Armed and Prohibited Persons System, boasts a relatively small staff of law enforcement officials, which has made it difficult to keep up with the growing list.