More than 6,000 children were hurt or killed by gunfire in the U.S. in 2022, according to the nonprofit data collection and research group Gun Violence Archive (GVA).
The data showed 6,032 children 17 years and younger were injured or killed due to gun violence this year, the highest number recorded in a single year since the nonprofit began tracking the data in 2014. The number increased from 5,708 killed or hurt 2021.
Specifically, 306 children 11 and younger died by gunfire, with 668 being injured, according to the data. Additionally, 1,325 teens aged 12 to 17 died by gunfire, with 3,732 being injured.
When GVA first started recording the data in 2014, 603 children and 2,318 teens died or were injured by gunfire, according to the website.
The statistic follows a year of high-profile shootings, including the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, which killed 19 students, all 11 years old or younger, on May 24.
Among the youngest killed by gunfire this year was 5-month-old Cecilia Thomas, who was shot in the head and killed in Chicago while sitting in a car during a drive-by shooting in June.
Overall, 43,675 people died from gun violence in 2022, with 19,849 being related to homicide, murder or unintentional causes and 23,826 classified as suicide.