近年来，美国政府控枪不利，致使枪支泛滥，枪击事件频繁发生。据美国“枪支暴力档案”网站数据，今年以来，截至当地时间11日，美国已发生557起大规模枪击事件（除枪手外有4人或4人以上伤亡的枪击案），16049人死于枪支暴力，这其中包括1179名未成年人。
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今年1月1日至10月11日，美国枪支暴力事件导致的死亡人数分布图，图源：美国“枪支暴力档案”网站
So far this year, there have been 557 mass shootings in the US, and 16,049 people have been killed by gun violence, according to the website Gun Violence Archive. As of Monday, shootings have claimed the lives of 1,179 young people.
据美联社报道，去年6月，有人在芝加哥一户人家的前廊向一群男孩开枪。子弹没有击中男孩们，却打穿了一扇窗户，射进了这户人家的餐厅。当时，13岁的女孩玛丽亚·琼斯正在餐厅给妈妈表演一段她准备发布在TikTok上的舞蹈。不幸的是，玛丽亚被子弹击中，不治身亡。
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玛丽亚·琼斯旧照，图源：美联社网站截图
如今，事件已过去1年多，但警方至今未找到凶手。琼斯一家则陷入了长久的悲痛之中。
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今年9月18日本应是玛丽亚·琼斯的15岁生日，人们装饰了她的墓地。图源：美联社网站截图
In June last year, someone fired shots at a group of boys on the front porch of a Chicago home. The bullet missed the boys but pierced a window into the dining room where 13-year-old Amaria Jones was showing her mom a dance routine she was perfecting for TikTok.
The bullet shattered a TV and everyone scattered for safety. When Amaria's mother returned, she found her daughter on the floor, holding her wounded neck and trying to call out, "Mom." Amaria was pronounced dead at a hospital. No arrests have been made.
据美联社报道，近年来，导致美国青少年死伤的枪支暴力事件逐年增多，不少儿童在枪支暴力事件中中枪，也有青少年会因争斗、毒品纠纷，甚至是因在社交媒体上发布的内容而陷入枪支暴力纠纷，造成死亡。
Gun violence is killing an increasing number of American children, from toddlers caught in crossfires to teenagers gunned down in turf wars, drug squabbles or for posting the wrong thing on social media.
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美国“枪支暴力档案”网站数据图可见，从2014年至2020年，美国每年死于枪支暴力事件的人数呈上升趋势，图源：GVA
美国儿童保护基金(Children's Defense Fund) 3月份的一份报告发现，2017年美国儿童和青少年枪击死亡人数达到19年来的最高水平，且在之后持上升趋势。此外，黑人儿童和青少年被枪杀的可能性是白人的四倍。
A March report from the Children's Defense Fund found that child and teen shooting deaths reached a 19-year high in 2017 and have remained elevated. Black children and teenagers were four times more likely than whites to be fatally shot.
该基金总裁兼首席执行官威尔逊表示，新冠疫情期间，枪支销售的激增，让情况变得更糟，“大街上贩卖的枪支越来越多，而人们从事生产活动的机会越来越少。这两者的结合让情况非常棘手。”
The fund's president and CEO, the Rev. Starsky Wilson, said a spike in gun sales during the pandemic has made things worse. “There are more guns available on the street and there are folks with less opportunity to engage in productive activity," Wilson said. “A combination of those two is really challenging."
此外，专家表示，社交媒体也是促使枪支暴力事件增多的原因之一。费城凶杀组的队长杰森·史密斯(Jason Smith)称，网络上发布的侮辱内容，可能很快在现实中变成报复。
Social media also plays a role, experts say. A posted insult can turn quickly into retaliation, said Jason Smith, a homicide division captain in Philadelphia.
美国儿科医生：儿童中枪已像得阑尾炎一样常见
在美联社11日发布的采访中，美国圣路易斯儿童医院急诊室医生林赛·科拉克斯（Lindsay Clukies）无奈地表示，“2020年一年里，我们医院就接诊了150名中枪的儿童。（在美国）儿童中枪已经像得阑尾炎或是骨折一样常见了，真的很不幸。中枪者的年龄越来越小。”
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Shootings involving children and teens are on the rise. Dr. Lindsay Clukies, an emergency room doctor at St. Louis Children's Hospital, says treating kids for gun wounds has become as common as treating appendicitis or broken bones.
"In 2020, we finished the year seeing 150 children who were shot. It became something as common as appendicitis or broken bones. It was really unfortunate. And we are unfortunately seeing younger and younger ages."
“孩子的身体更小，所以单是一发子弹，就能对他们造成对比成年人更严重的伤害，还更容易伤害到身体的关键部位的。”，科拉克斯说，“作为儿科医生，我们没想到，也当然不希望看到中弹儿童，但如今这已经成为我们的现实。”
"When you think about a child, their bodies are smaller, so a single bullet does a significant more damage and hits more essential structure than an adult." She said during an interview, "As pediatricians, we definitely didn’t sign up or expect to see children being shot, but this is becoming our reality."
综合来源：美联社，央广网，美国“枪支暴力档案”网站
