LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Gun violence has increased over the years, but new data shows it’s only gotten worse during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dr. Sarah Moyer, director of the Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness, said through the lens of public health, violence had spread right alongside the pandemic.
“Gun violence isn’t random. Both guns and violence spread like infectious diseases through social networks—in the real world and online,” Dr. Moyer said. “Unfortunately, the discussion about violence is often framed as a moral failing and people engaging in it being beyond redemption. However, that ignores the underlying factors and causes that lead to gun violence in the first place.”
Moyer said taking that public health approach, like the pandemic, means identifying problems, risk and protective factors and testing prevention strategies. She said their strategy is like contract tracing and testing with COVID – actively identifying those who are involved, isolating them and connecting them to resources and treatment.
Dr. Monique Williams with the office of Safe and Healthy Neighborhoods discussed the correlation during Mayor Greg Fischer’s weekly COVID-19 briefing.
“People don’t just generally wake up every day and decide they’re gonna shoot somebody. There are a lot of factors and a lot of factors that are out of the control of an individual that play into how violence is happening in our communities in the first place,” she said.
Williams also pointed out there was a record number of guns sold in 2020 in the US, meaning firearms are more available at home for young people to get ahold of.
She also cites financial problems like layoffs or reduced hours put people at greater risk.
“There’s a vaccine that exists for COVID,” Williams said. “And while there isn’t a vaccine for gun violence, we can help prevent it when we wrap kids in a cocoon of protective factors: providing social activities that foster a sense of belonging and meaning, providing good jobs, getting them mental health treatment for trauma and teaching them coping mechanisms, providing them positive peer and adult relationships, and creating protective community environments to name a few.”
Louisville has reported more than 150 homicides in 2021.
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