Report: Child has died from injuries inflicted by firearm about once every two weeks in WI since 1999

MILWAUKEE -- A new report was released on Tuesday, April 12th by the "Wisconsin Council on Children & Families" analyzing the number of children killed by guns in Wisconsin from 1999-2014. The report shows a child has died from injuries inflicted by a firearm about once every two weeks in Wisconsin since 1999.

According to the data, firearms are the third leading cause of injury death for Wisconsin children, and they have killed more children in Wisconsin than drowning, fires and falls combined.

The report shows that there has been an increase recently in the number of children 17 years of age or younger killed by guns in Wisconsin -- climbing to 1.7 deaths per 100,000 in 2012-2014.

Nationally, the number of children killed by guns has plateaued after several years of decreases, indicating that the lack of recent progress towards reducing the number of child deaths is a problem in other states as well as in Wisconsin.

According to the report, between 1999 and 2014, 167 children in Milwaukee County were killed by guns -- where nearly half (41%) of Wisconsin's child deaths from firearms occurred. Children in Milwaukee County were three times as likely as children in the rest of the state to be killed by firearms.

The number of children killed by guns from homicide and suicide is roughly equal, each making up just under half of the total number of child deaths in Wisconsin since 1999.

Accidental deaths from guns make up seven percent of the total.

African-American children in Wisconsin are much more likely than children of other races to be killed by guns, and unlike white children, are more likely to be killed from homicides than suicides, according to the report.

The report indicates there is no clear answer as to why these differences exist, but it is important to note that high-poverty communities are much more likely to have high rates of crime and violence, and children in these neighborhoods are less likely to have high-quality schools and safe places for them to play.

Wisconsin children who are black are nearly five times as likely as their white non-Hispanic peers to be killed by guns.

In a national comparison, Wisconsin ranks near the middle of the states in overall child death rates from guns during this period —28th out of 50 states.

CLICK HERE to read the complete report.