In 2016, 5 percent of all child deaths in Arizona involved guns. (Photo by Jim Tuttle/News21)
As the nation continued to grieve the loss of 17 high school students in the Feb. 14 mass shooting in Parkland, Florida, Cronkite News took a look into how many deaths among Arizona children involve firearms.
According to a 2017 report by the Arizona Child Fatality Review Program, firearms-related fatalities increased by 29 percent from 2015 to 2016. Twelve of the 36 deaths were suicides; 24 were homicides.
Firearms-related deaths accounted for 5 percent of all child deaths in 2016, and the numbers have steadily increased since.
All firearms-related deaths are considered preventable; they make up 11 percent of all preventable deaths in Arizona. More than two-thirds of the guns used were stolen or belonged to parents.