It's not disease that's claiming the lives of children in the United States; it's gun violence, according to a new study. MSNBC reports that 10,000 children are injured or are killed each year by the deadly smoking barrel of gun violence.

Published in the medical journal Pediatrics, the research team from Yale School of Medicine combed through data on child mortality rates in the country from 2009 onwards, tracking pediatric hospital stays.

The researchers found that over 7,000 children under the age of 20 are injured unintentionally and intentionally from gunshot while 3,000 children never make it to the hospital, dying from their gun injuries on the way to seeking treatment.

WebMD notes that with such a huge toll in the mortality rate among children, it only means that 20 children are rushed to the hospital each day because of gun violence. The study reveals that over 50% of the cases involved assault towards the child, but one-third was unintentional. Accidental injuries ranked highest, as three out of four cases involving children under 10 years old had been caused by accidental injuries.

Interestingly, the study also determined that boys are more likely to be victims of gun violence, as nine out of ten cases involved male patients. African-Americans have also been found out to be more susceptible, as they are more vulnerable to gun violence injuries ten times more than Caucasian boys.

4,559 cases result from gun assaults, while 2,149 are unintentional and caused by accidents. 270 pertain to suicide attempts. Injuries were usually open wounds (52 %) and fractures (50% percent), according to NBC News.

The most devastating type of injuries from gun violence are brain and spinal cord injuries, that most often affect children under 10 years old - making the aftermath devastating. Lead author of the study Dr. John Leventhal says the figures are lamentable because the injuries and deaths could have been prevented with responsible gun handling in the home.

In a report by MSNBC, Dr. Leventhal said, "All are unnecessary hospitalizations because preventing gun violence is something that can actually be done. A pediatrics professor at Yale, Leventhal even stressed that parents should keep their guns under lock and key, making sure that the ammunition is stored and kept hidden separately from the gun itself in order to prevent accidental injuries.

Daniel Webster, director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research, notes that the United States stands out in terms of firearms-related mortality, especially in children. The statistics are alarming; it presents a unique and disturbing problem especially since such "a wealthy nation should have such high mortality and morbidity in youth related to firearms," Webster told MSNBC.

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