One in five Americans have a family member killed by guns: survey

One in five American adults have a family member who was killed by a gun -- including by suicide -- and a similar percentage said they've been threatened with one, according to a survey released Tuesday.

Gun-related violence -- including mass shootings, suicides and accidents -- has become so common in the United States that 84 percent of US adults say they have taken precautions to protect themselves and their families from the danger of being shot, according to health research group KFF, which released the survey.

More than one third of those surveyed said they have avoided large crowds due to the possibility of gun violence. Some 29 percent have bought firearms to protect themselves and their families.

The data was released one day after the latest mass shooting to hit the country, at a bank in Louisville, Kentucky, left five dead. Governor Andy Beshear said one of the victims was "an incredible friend" of his.

Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg detailed how he was shot at during his election campaign last year.

On March 27, three children and three adults were shot dead at a primary school in Nashville, Tennessee.

According to the Gun Violence Archive, 11,631 people have been killed by guns so far in 2023, including 4,965 by homicide, accidents and incidents of defensive gun use, and 6,666 by suicide.

In 2022, the organization said, 20,249 people died in homicidal, accidental or defensive shootings. More than 24,000 used guns to kill themselves.

KFF said 41 percent of American adults live in households where there is a gun present -- and in 44 percent of those homes, the weapon is kept in an unlocked location.

Black and Hispanic Americans reported far more experiences knowing someone who was shot, and generally feeling threatened by gun violence, than white Americans did.

Three out of 10 Black adults had personally seen someone being shot, the survey said, more than twice the rate for white adults.

KFF's data was based on a survey of 1,271 adults taken during mid-March.

© Agence France-Presse