8,583 people in the United States were murdered with the use of firearms in 2011 alone. 565 of them were under the age of 18. 119 of them were 12 or younger. In 2008 and 2009, gun violence was the number one killer of African American males between the ages of 15-19. And although African American children were less than 15% of the total child population — they accounted for 45% of all youth gun deaths.