Shootings in Buffalo, Uvalde just tip of iceberg of U.S. gun violence: El Pais

MADRID, June 22 (Xinhua) -- The mass shootings in Buffalo, New York State, and Uvalde, Texas, are just the tip of the iceberg of systemic gun violence in the United States, Spanish daily El Pais has reported.

The United States accounts for less than 5 percent of the global population, but owns 46 percent of the world's existing firearms, the report said, adding that the problem "fuels divisions and political polarization."

The impact on children is "especially concerning," it said, noting that 2020 saw more children lost their lives to guns than traffic accidents, which had previously been the main cause of death in this age group, and 2021 has seen the same pattern.

More than 20,700 people have died due to gun violence across the United States so far this year, according to the latest data from the nonprofit organization Gun Violence Archive.