By Suzanne G. McLone, John R. Pamplin II, Jaii D. Pappu, Jaimie L. Gradus1 and Jonathan S. Jay

Background Firearm homicide and opioid overdoses were already leading causes of death in the U.S. before both problems surged during the COVID-19 pandemic. Firearm violence, overdoses, and COVID-19 have all disproportionately harmed communities that are socially and economically marginalized, but the co-occurrence of these problems in the same communities has received little attention. To describe the co-occurrence of firearm homicides and opioid overdose deaths with COVID-19 mortality we used 2017–2021 medical examiner’s data from Chicago, IL. Deaths were assigned to zip codes based on descendants' residence. We stratified zip codes into quartiles by COVID-19 mortality rate, then compared firearm homicide and fatal opioid overdose rates by COVID-19 quartile. Findings Throughout the study period, firearm homicide and opioid overdose rates were highest in the highest COVID-19 mortality quartile and lowest in the lowest COVID-19 mortality quartile. Increases in firearm homicide and opioid overdose were observed across all COVID-19 mortality quartiles. Conclusions High co-occurrence of these deaths at the community level call for addressing the systemic forces that made them most vulnerable before the pandemic. Such strategies should consider the environments where people reside, not only where fatal injuries occur. 

Injury Epidemiology 11:34: 2024.

By Everytown Research and Policy

Beginning in 2020, the destabilizing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic led to social isolation, economic struggles, and worsening mental health across the country. Though suicide rates across the nation had declined from 2019 to 2020,1 they began to increase in 2021, and veterans were not immune to this trend. More veterans died by suicide in 2021 than in 2020,3 studies show that veterans saw a higher incidence of mental health concerns than before the pandemic. By 2021, 72 percent of veteran suicides involved firearms—the highest proportion in over 20 years. With an average of 18 veterans dying by suicide in the United States each day, 13 of them by firearm, we cannot address veteran suicide without talking about guns. Veterans confront unique challenges during their service and face new ones when they return to civilian life. And these challenges are not always what might be expected. While many assume that suicide in veterans is associated with their time while deployed veterans who served during the wars in Iraq in Afghanistan who were not deployed6 had higher suicide rates than those who were deployed. But one thing is clear: addressing the unique role guns play is an integral part of efforts to end veteran suicide. It is crucial to pursue policies that can protect against veteran suicide, including disrupting a person’s access to a firearm when they are in crisis through secure gun storage, storing a gun outside the home, using Extreme Risk laws; raising awareness about the risks of firearm access; addressing upstream factors that can lead to veteran suicide; and ensuring that we have timely data about the basic aspects of this crisis.

New York: Everytown Research and Policy 2024.