Reply #72: As long as "children" are defined as 18 and younger, and the large percentage of offenders

[jmg257]

and victims of gun crimes are 15-21, there will be plenty of "children" killed every year.

"In the Summer of 1999, the New Haven Gun Project implemented several new strategies to attack violent gun crime in the City of New Haven.
...Data from this research, conducted by Spectrum Associates of Farmington, Connecticut, was presented to a wide array of law enforcement, government and community representatives in order to solicit ideas for strategies to reduce violent gun crimes and illegal gun possession. Some of the data presented included:


Most offenders (the same 15-21 year olds) had serious criminal histories.
One fifth of offenders had been arrested for a prior gun offense, and three-fifths had a history of drug charges.
Over one third of the offenders were on probation at the time of the new gun-related offense.
Approximately one-third of offenders or victims associated with murders and armed assaults were members of neighborhood "groups" believed to be involved in other illegal activities. "


Compare to say 1-15 years where then about 625 children were killed by gunfire in all of 2005.