Nearly two-thirds of gun-related deaths in the United States are suicides. Most individuals who attempt suicide do not die—unless they use a gun. Approximately 90 percent of gun suicide attempts end in death, whereas 4 percent of suicide attempts not involving a firearm result in death.

An estimated 40,000,000 adults in the United States report someone they cared for had attempted or died by suicide with a gun. This is particularly concerning for veterans, children, and teenagers. Veterans are 1.5 times more likely than non-veterans to die by suicide, and in 2017, 69 percent of veteran suicides were by gun. Among children and teenagers, the rate of gun suicide has increased 59 percent over the past 10 years.

More than one-third of gun-related deaths in the United States are homicides, and in 2015, the gun homicide rate in the United States was nearly 25 times higher than in other high-income countries. Gun homicides in the United States occur disproportionately in cities, particularly in racially segregated neighborhoods with high rates of poverty.

Gun homicide disproportionately affects communities of color, and Black Americans represent the majority of gun homicide victims. More than 600 mass shootings, defined as shootings in which 4 or more individuals were shot and killed or injured, took place in the United States in 2020, and more than 2,600 mass shootings have taken place since the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, in 2012.