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Teen shootings increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, underscoring a gun violence epidemic that particularly affects Black, Hispanic and Native American youth. Chronic exposure to trauma changes the way a child's brain develops, and helps explain why some young people turn to guns for protection, and sometimes wind up killing their peers.
Research shows that adolescents exposed to gun violence are twice as likely as others to perpetrate a serious violent crime within two years.
Diego never imagined he'd carry a gun. Not as a child, when shots were fired outside his Chicago-area home. Not at age 12, when one of his friends was gunned down.
Teens who carry firearms might never plan to use them. But guns and developing brains can be a volatile mix.
Diego never imagined he’d carry a gun.