Unsecure Storage Leads to Child Suicide Deaths

How do kids kill themselves with guns?

It’s not a question anyone wants to ask. But for the 3,400 youth aged 10–24 dying from firearm suicide every year, it’s a question that needs answered.

Guns cannot be purchased by anyone younger than 18, yet they are used in more than half of youth suicides in the U.S and are the most lethal means of suicide among young people. If a gun isn’t used, only 4% of suicide attempts end in death. When a gun is used, more than 90% end in death.  

A new study from the Children’s Hospital Association Research in Gun-Related Events (CHARGE) Collaborative, presented at the American Academy of Pediatrics conference this year, sought to answer the obvious question: where are the guns coming from?

The researchers examined more than 1,000 firearm suicides among youth ages 10–24 across nine states between 2018 and 2021.

The findings reveal a common culprit.

“It may not be a surprise, but it’s a statistical confirmation of a key source of the problem,” said study author Sofia Chaudhary, MD, assistant professor of pediatrics and emergency medicine at Emory University School of Medicine and physician at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.

A clear cause

Riley Garrigus was only 16 when she shot herself in her living room after another day of being bullied at school. Her father didn’t know his daughter was considering suicide, and she was used to having guns in the house, so he didn’t see the urgency to store his gun securely. It sat openly on the mantle, unlocked and loaded.

It turns out, this tragic story is common. More than half of all firearm suicides by 10- to 17-year-olds are committed using a parent’s gun, which in most cases are unlocked and loaded, according to the study.

Among children ages 10–17, the firearm used in a suicide is 10 times more likely to belong to a parent than the child. In contrast, most young adults aged 18-24 who die by suicide own the firearm themselves.

Across all ages, about 60% of suicides occurred in their own home, underscoring how critical safe storage is to prevent tragedy.

Yet, among the firearms with known storage information, two-thirds are kept unlocked and nearly eight in 10 were loaded. Only 9% are stored in the most secure way — locked and unloaded.

In a small number of cases, kids still got hold of secured firearms. “For youth in periods of crisis, off-site firearm storage, even temporarily, is perhaps the safest approach,” Chaudhary said.

Seeking solutions

Based on the CHARGE study’s insights, educating parents on the importance of secure firearm storage is a clear place to start.

“Because most child suicides happen at home with parents’ guns, hundreds of child deaths could be prevented simply through better storage practices,” Chaudhary said.

She also recommended reducing young adults’ access to firearm ownership, since most of the decedents in that age range owned their own gun.

CHARGE researchers continue to uncover causes and solutions to help shape effective policy and public health investments.

Children’s hospitals are investing heavily in mental health care and in direct firearm injury prevention efforts.  

The Children’s Hospital Association continues to lead advocacy efforts and equip children’s hospitals.

“It’s encouraging to see innovative efforts from those who aren’t typically associated with the topic of firearms,” Chaudhary said. “While secure storage is the first and simplest step, eliminating child firearm suicides is going to require buy-in from every sector of society and especially from those in health care, who people trust and whose priority is children’s health.”