Gun-related death toll hits new high in U.S. Texas: report

HOUSTON, May 10 (Xinhua) -- The death toll of gun violence reached new high in south central U.S. state of Texas, where state lawmakers have kept weakening gun regulations in the past three decades, The Texas Tribune reported on Wednesday.

There were 15 deaths by firearms per 100,000 people in Texas in 2021, a 50 percent jump from 1999 when there were on average 10 deaths by firearms per 100,000 people, said the report, citing data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Over the same period, firearm-related homicides rose 66 percent and suicides involving firearms rose 40 percent in the Lone Star state, said the report.

The last time firearm deaths in the state, including suicides, homicides and accidents, exceeded 15 per 100,000 people was in 1994.

As the number of gun-relation deaths continues rising, Republican-controlled Texas legislation has approved more than 100 bills that have loosened gun restrictions since 2000, according to data compiled by ProPublica and The Texas Tribune.

The state blocks campus "zero tolerance" policies that expel gun-carrying students, bans hotels from restricting handguns, and allows Texans to carry handguns without a license or training.

Eight people were killed and seven others injured after a shooting at an outlet mall near Dallas on Saturday, making it the second deadliest mass shooting in the United States this year.