About the half of American families were affected by a weapons incident, according to a recent survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Approximately 54% of American adults reported that they or a family member have experienced such an incident.
The survey found that 21% of participants had been personally threatened with a gun, while 19% said a family member had been killed with a gun, including suicide.
About 17% of respondents said they witnessed a gunshot, 4% said they used a gun in self-defense and another 4% said they were injured in a gunfight.
The survey found that the gun-related injuries and deaths African Americans and Hispanics are “disproportionately” affected.
31% of Black adults witnessed someone being shot, compared to 22% of Hispanic adults.
About 84% of adults reported taking at least one precaution against potential gun violence affecting their families.
According to the study, four out of ten adults live in a household with a gun.
The poll was conducted after the deadly school shooting in Nashville, Tennessee, that killed three students and three adults.
More than 11,500 people across the North American nation have died as a result armed force on April 11, the nonprofit research group Gun Violence Archive announced on Tuesday.
So far this year there have been 147 mass shootings in the country. At least 72 children died in these tragedies.