U.S. gun violence claims over 1 mln lives amid rampant firearm abuse, proliferation

STORY: U.S. gun violence claims over 1 mln lives amid rampant firearm abuse, proliferation DATELINE: Dec. 3, 2022 LENGTH: 00:01:33 LOCATION: NEW YORK, U.S. CATEGORY: SOCIETY SHOTLIST: 1. STANDUP (English): XIA LIN, Xinhua correspondent STORYLINE: Amid a surge in both gun violence and ownership, the United States has seen over 1 million firearm fatalities over the past three decades with the death rates reaching a 28-year high in 2021. There were 1,110,421 deaths related to firearms in the country from 1990 to 2021, nearly 86 percent of them among males, according to a recent study released in the JAMA Network Open. "Firearm fatalities accelerated dramatically during the COVID pandemic," said Eric Fleegler, one of the authors, who takes responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis. "Multiple potential factors have likely contributed to this including severe economic distress, an erupting mental health crisis, and a significant uptick in the sale of firearms," said th