BOSTON, April 24, 2026 – Firearm violence is the leading cause of death among U.S. youth. A new study from Boston Children's Hospital found that youth-perpetrated firearm homicides increased by 41% between 2018 and 2022. Stronger firearm laws were associated with lower homicide rates, with states in the strongest law quintile having a 66% lower homicide rate compared with those in the weakest quintile. This underscores the importance of comprehensive firearm legislation for decreasing youth perpetrated firearm homicide. Findings from the study will be presented during the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) 2026 Meeting , taking place April 24-27 in Boston.
Prior research has focused on youth as victims, with less known about youth as perpetrators. Understanding how firearm laws shape youth-perpetrated homicides is key to prevention.
"Firearm violence is now the leading cause of death for children in the U.S., yet we know far less about youth as perpetrators than as victims," said Ayesha Dholakia, fellow at Boston Children's Hospital and lead author of the study. "Our study shows that states with stronger firearm laws have substantially lower rates of youth-perpetrated firearm homicide, underscoring the role of policy environments in prevention and the need to better understand who is driving youth firearm violence--and why."
Of 94,863 homicides, 37,858 (39.9%) recorded perpetrator age. Of these, 12,501 (33.0%) involved youth perpetrators, of which 10,263 (82.1%) involved firearms. After excluding 11 low data capture states, there were 9,167 youth-perpetrated firearm homicides involving 8,524 unique youth perpetrators. Five-year average state-level rates ranged from 0.3 to 10.3 per 100,000 youth (median 1.8, IQR 1.3-3.7). Perpetrators had a median age of 20 years (IQR 18-22) and were majority male (93.2%) and of Black race (64.5%). Victims had a median age of 24 years (IQR 19-33) and were majority male (85.9%) and of Black race (62.5%).
Additional information is included in the below research abstract. The PAS Meeting connects thousands of leading pediatric researchers, clinicians and educators worldwide. View the full schedule in the PAS 2026 program guide
