You might expect that the social peculiarities of 2020 offer some explanation for the rise in murder rate in the United States. There are at least three popular theories as to the underlying cause, according to news website Vox: COVID-19’s disruption to daily life, the breakdown of police-community relations after the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police in May 2020 and subsequent national protests, and a record increase in gun purchases.8 Regarding the last item, 77% of murders in 2020 involved a gun.