Gun violence survivor campaign: Black man in jeans, a gray winter jacket and navy baseball cap on backwards stands on sidewalk in front of s 2-story oldr home holding a white human skull with large section of bone missing on right side.

At home in Arkansas and globally, shooting survivor campaigns against gun violence

Between Jan. 1, 2022 and April 25, 2022, Little Rock, Ark. — the 24th most violent of 65 cities, according to the FBI's most recent data — counted 24 homicides. That compared to 21 homicides during the same period in 2021, according to the Little Rock Police Department’s most recent count. A disproportionate number of those murders involved guns, continuing a trend. Blacks — mainly males — accounted for all homicide victims under 30 years old in Little Rock.

Vet Suicide: Blonde man wearing tan jacket and blue jeans walks with hands in pockets between several huge, round white pillars.

Gun suicides felled some veterans; others found a way forward

Daily, an average of 17 U.S. veterans has resorted to suicide, taking their lives at a 52.3% greater rate than other Americans did in 2019, when 6,261 veterans died by suicide. Firearms were involved in 69.2% of those deaths. Veterans aged 34 and younger died at a higher rate than any other former service members.

gun suicides among youth report: gun hidden in clothes drawer

Half of suicides were by gun; suicides by all methods rose sharply among minority youth

With suicides, including those by gun, the second-leading cause of death for 10- through 34-year-olds — and suicides surging by 35% during 20 years ending in 2019 — it’s important to raise awareness that suicides are preventable and that most of those survive an attempt do not try another.

That’s according to the Convergence Center for Policy Resolution, whose early December report, “Convergence Dialogue on Guns and Suicide Prevention,” highlights interventions, including safe gun storage and efforts to safeguard the mental health of young people and others who may be suicidal.

Jacksonville, Florida's gun-murder capitol: bridge going over water in Jacksonville

In Jacksonville, Florida’s gun-murder capitol, locals assess the merits of crime prevention and punishment

Adrift after his father was shot and killed during an argument with a man at a Jacksonville, Fla. bar, then 14-year-old Robert LeCount spent several years burnishing his reputation as a drug-dealer and star athlete.

“We had football rivalry, we had basketball rivalry, we had baseball rivalry. That's how we dealt with a lot of things. Our energy was in the sports and in different activities.” said LeCount, now 63, a Disciples of Christ pastor whose son, then 22, was shot in their Florida hometown in 2003.

gun violence killing teens, children: young mother holding picture of dead son

Gun violence claiming more lives of American teens, children

Gun violence is killing an increasing number of American children, from toddlers caught in crossfires to teenagers gunned down in turf wars, drug squabbles or for posting the wrong thing on social media. Experts say idleness caused by the COVID-19 pandemic shares the blame with easy access to guns and disputes that too often end with gunfire.