Gunshots are the second leading cause of injury-related death in children, exceeded only by car accidents. In a typical week in the United States, 25 children die from bullet wounds.

Between 2012 and 2014, an average of 1,297 children under age 18 died each year from firearm injuries. Aside from deaths in the course of law enforcement and other circumstances, there were an average of 693 homicides, 493 suicides and 82 unintentional deaths annually.

In addition, there were 5,790 nonfatal injuries a year from gunshots, most due to assault.

Researchers writing in the journal Pediatrics analyzed data gathered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and by the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System.

They found that the annual rate of firearm homicides among African-American children (3.5 per 100,000) was nearly 10 times the rate among whites.