Between 1985 and 1993, youth homicide victimization rates in the United States increased more than other violent crime rates. The homicide victimization rate for young people between 15 and 24 years of age doubled, while the rate for persons between 25 and 34 years of age increased by 18 percent and the rate for those older than 34 years actually decreased. The epidemic was almost entirely confined to minorities and within minority groups males were affected much more than females. The homicide victimization rate for black male victims between 13 and 17 years of age more than tripled and the rate at which black males in this age group committed homicides more than quadrupled. The youth homicide epidemic may be the result of a change in the character of young people and the lack of a healthy adult presence in children's lives. The youth homicide epidemic may also be related to a change in the context in which children live. Another significant factor in youth violence involves the increasing availability of guns. Finding ways to separate violent youth from their guns has been and will continue to be part of the solution to deal with youth violence, and a multipronged effort to reduce the criminal use of guns is warranted. 1 photograph