Homicides and suicides among young Americans reached their highest levels in decades during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study.
The report (pdf) analyzed the homicide and suicide death rates among those aged 10–24 from 2001 to 2021.
One key finding was that from 2019 to 2020, the homicide rate for the overall age group spiked by 37 percent, from 7.8 per 100,000 people to 10.7. The increase among teens aged 15–19 was even greater for that period, rising from 8.9 per 100,000 to 12.3. In 2021, it rose again among older teens to 12.8—the highest rate since 1997, according to CDC data.
Year-over-year, 2020 marked the largest increase in homicide rates across all age groups….}