Youth suicides by firearms in the United States are at their highest rate in more than 20 years as the number of children, teenagers and young adults who have taken their lives with guns increased more than in any other age range, said a report on Thursday.

The report by the nonprofit Everytown For Gun Safety found that the rate of firearm suicides during the COVID-19 pandemic increased by 2 percent as a whole from 2019 to 2020, but the rate among those aged 10 to 24 increased by 15 percent.

The firearm suicide rate between the ages of 10 and 14 increased by 31 percent from 2019 to 2020－the highest reported rate for that age group by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention since 1968. Researchers for Everytown found that over a longer period from 2011 to 2020, the rate increased by 146 percent.

The CDC's Adolescent Behaviors and Experiences Survey found that at least 1 in 5 high school students had seriously contemplated suicide last year, and nearly 1 in 10 had attempted suicide in the past year.

Boys and young men represent nearly 9 out of 10 firearm suicide victims, Everytown found. They are also seven times more likely to kill themselves with a gun compared with their female peers, according to the CDC.

Young people who identify as Native Americans or Alaska Natives are 1.5 times more likely to die by firearm suicide, followed by white and black youth. Firearm suicide rates across all racial and ethnic groups have increased dramatically over the past decade.

Lowest rate

While young Asians and Pacific Islanders have the lowest overall rate of firearm suicide, they have seen the steepest increase in firearm suicide rate over the past decade at 168 percent, the report showed.

Racial and ethnic minority groups in the US are among those hit hardest by the increased suicide rate, Everytown research director Sarah Burd-Sharps told ABC News. A lack of access to mental healthcare resulting in higher rates of untreated depression as well as traumatic exposure to discrimination and racism are among the driving factors.

In the wake of two mass shootings by two teenage gunmen－an 18-year-old in Buffalo, New York, and an 18-year-old in Uvalde, Texas－last month, the report recommends expanding "red flag" laws.

"Research shows they save lives," Burd-Sharps said. "They very much prevent youth suicide."

Red flag laws temporarily prevent anyone, particularly the young, from being able to own a firearm if they show signs of mental strain or worrying behavior that could cause them to harm themselves or others. At least 19 states have red flag laws.

Professor David Studdert, an expert in health law at Stanford Law School in California, told China Daily: "Red flag laws are a promising strategy; these laws allow family and friends who are worried about their loved ones' mental health to petition for removal of guns."

belindarobinson@chinadailyusa.com