Number of Hispanics Murdered in the U.S. Doubles that of the White Population: Study

The number of Latino victims of homicide in the U.S. is double that of Caucasians, and most of these murders are related to firearms, a study published on Thursday revealed.

The Violence Policy Center (VPC) revealed on Thursday that homicide is the second cause of death for Hispanics between 15 and 24 years of age living in the United States, an alarming rate if its compared to white citizens of the same age, for whom it is the fourth cause of death, reported Los Angeles Times.

Based on data from the Centers for Disease Control and Disease Prevention (CDC), as well as the FBI, the study "Hispanic Victims of Lethal Firearms Violence in the United States" of the VPC, revealed that over 38,000 Hispanics lost their lives in incidents related to lethal firearm violence between 1999 and 2010, including 26,349 homicide victims and 10,314 suicides.

According to Fox Latino, the Hispanic population has a greater chance of being murdered by an unknown person that the national average.

In 2011, the FBI highlighted that in the cases where a relationship could be established between the victim and the killer, 39% of Latinos were murdered by someone they didn't know, compared to the national average of 25%.

That same year, 41% of the Hispanic victims of homicide had 24 years or less, while African American citizens victims of homicide in that age range was 40% and Caucasians 22%.

Likewise, the study reveals that the amount of Hispanic victims who died in violent incidents related to firearms might be far superior to the presented figure since, the report says, there are severe deficiencies in the way public organisms compile information related to Hispanic cases.

This is why the people who made the study recommend that government agencies improve the way in which they compile and report data on Hispanic victims of violence.

"Our report shows that the epidemic of firearms violence that afflicts the United States has a disproportionate impact on the Hispanic community. This violence epidemic has not only ended the lives of many people, but is also tearing apart the lives of many families," concluded Josh Sugarmann, executive director of VPC, reported Fox.

You can download the study from this link.