gun violence

Firearm Injuries Increased during First Year of COVID in Massachusetts

Black and Hispanic men disproportionately experienced the injuries, underscoring a history of systemic racism and health inequities, as well as the need for sustained investment in violence prevention services.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been associated with differences in levels, timing, and types of violent penetrating injuries. In Massachusetts, protective measures to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 were associated with an increase in firearm injuries during the first year of the pandemic, according to a new study led by researchers at the School of Public Health and Boston Medical Center (BMC).

Published in the journal JAMA Network Open, the study found that Black and Hispanic men who were unemployed were more likely to experience firearm injuries, highlighting the disproportionate consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic for vulnerable populations. The findings reflect a significant increase in patients with firearm injuries during the first year of the pandemic, but no increase to the number of stabbing injuries, when compared with the previous five years.

The surge in firearm violence began while Massachusetts was still under a stay-at-home advisory and before large-scale racial justice protests began. While other sources have documented an historic rise in homicides in 2020, this study analyzed the increase in serious but mostly non-fatal violence among patients who presented to the emergency department.    

“Every one of these injuries represents a traumatic and life-altering event for the survivor, their family and community,” says study senior author Jonathan Jay, assistant professor of community health sciences at SPH. Even though gun violence rates in Boston trended downward in the second part of 2021, “people continue to face these harms every day, particularly in the most marginalized communities,” Jay says. “It will take many years of sustained investments to make Boston safer and more equitable.”      

The study included 2,383 patients with violent penetrating injuries from March 2020 to February 2021, and compared them to patients with firearm injuries from the previous five years (March 2015 to February 2020). Of those with injuries, 85 percent were men, 66 percent were Black, 19 percent were Hispanic, and 9 percent were White.

Black and Hispanic households were more likely to experience job or wage loss due to the pandemic and were less likely to have financial reserves to cover basic expenses. The social and financial impacts of the pandemic may have contributed to an increase in violence and the results can be seen as a reflection of the legacy of systemic racism and health inequalities.

“The COVID-19 pandemic, violent injuries, and homicides have disproportionately impacted neighborhoods of Black, Hispanic, and other racially marginalized individuals,” says study corresponding author Elizabeth Pino, a research scientist and data manager at the Violence Intervention Advocacy Program at BMC. “As the pandemic continues, community violence prevention and interventions must be implemented to respond to this epidemic of violence.”

The researchers also found that patients presenting with violent penetrative injuries during the pandemic were less likely to have experienced a similar injury prior to the pandemic. Shootings also increased during weekdays compared with previous years, but they continued to occur primarily during overnight hours.

The researchers say that these findings point to the need to ensure that violence prevention services are amply available, and that immediate support and interventions are accessible when violence occurs, regardless of day or time. They also emphasize that an all-hazard preparedness approach is needed to mitigate firearm violence.