The relationship between face and gun deaths in the U.S.

With the number of deaths rising as a result of gun violence, Americans are now 10 times more likely to be killed by guns than in any other high-income country in the world, according to new studies.

In an interview with CBS News, Erin Grinshteyn, an assistant professor at the School of Community Health Science at the University of Nevada-Reno highlighted what these numbers mean.

“Overall, our results show that the U.S., which has the most firearms per capita in the world, suffers disproportionately from firearms compared with other high-income countries,” she said.

Although gun violence has decreased drastically since the 1990s it is still a very prominent issue. On average, more than two-thirds of the homicides in the U.S. are caused by gun violence. In 2015, there were a total of 13,286 people killed by guns. This year has already surpassed that number, and by the end of this year, it will almost be 1,500 victims higher, according to data by the Gun Violence Archive. That is an average of 36 people dying everyday in the U.S.

Taking a deeper look into the statistics, it is inevitable to avoid the rate at which different races in the United States are affected by gun violence. Gun violence today has become an epidemic of race and inequality. Numbers show that firearm victims in the country are largely disproportionate by race and the African-American population is the most affected.

Here are some statistics to keep in mind.

Blacks males are twice as likely as White males to be victims of gun violence.

According to the CDC Injury Prevention & Control database, 77 percent of White gun deaths are suicides, and 19 percent are homicides (less than 1 in 5). Data of the Black population reflects the opposite. 82 percent of Black gun deaths are homicides, where as 14 percent are suicides.

The rate of Blacks as gun homicide victims has awakened the voices of many activists and organizations willing to lower the rate, like Robert Renteria. Renteria is a former gang member from Los Angeles who decided to turn his life around and is now a businessman and published national author of “From the Barrrio to the Board Room,” “Mi Barrio,” and “Little Barrio.”

Gun violence has been blamed on gangs, and according to the Chicago Tribune, gang violence is most prominent in lower economic neighborhoods where there are lack of jobs, negative peer networks, domestic violence, and a lack of educational resources.

Renteria uses his story to inspire others going through the dark paths of gang violence. He also travels to schools in and around Chicago motivating the youth towards brighter futures. Like many other experts, Renteria agrees that the problem of gang violence is rooted not necessarily in race but in neighborhoods of disinvestment.

“To be part of the solution, you have to be part of the process," he said. "I wanted to teach our kids that gang banging and violence is not a life-style, but a death-style"