I'd say it is an epidemic

Every American today lives on the slippery slope of gun violence and each of us is endangered because public safety is not a national priority. Many Americans are armed with powerful guns and shoot their fellow citizens with increasing regularity. The total number of people shot in the United States each year has risen significantly from the beginning of the new century to 2008, the latest year for which complete federal data is available. Between 2000 and 2008, a total of 272,590 people died of gunshot injuries in the United States—an average of 30,288 per year, a number shocking by comparison to any other developed country. During that same time period, an estimated 617,488 people suffered nonfatal gunshot injuries in the United States. The total number of people shot in 2008 totaled 110,215—the highest total recorded during the nine-year period surveyed by the Violence Policy Center.—America and Its Guns: A Theological Expose, page 199