Title: Unintentional Firearm Deaths: A Comparison of Other-Inflicted and Self-Inflicted Shootings

Publication Date: July 2010

What does it say?

In almost half of unintentional shooting deaths (49 percent), the victim is shot by another person, based on a review of unintentional shooting deaths over a four year period in 16 U.S. states and part of California.  Both shooters and victims are overwhelmingly male (over 90 percent), and the majority of shooters (81 percent) and victims killed by someone else (72 percent) are young (under age 25).

Data came from the years 2003-2006 of the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS), which collects information from death certificates, coroner/medical examiner reports, and police reports. The article describes 363 unintentional firearm deaths including age and gender of shooter and victim, setting of shooting, and relationship between shooter and victim.

When the victim was shot by another person, in virtually all the cases (99 percent), the shooter and victim knew each other.  In 47 percent of these types of deaths, the victim was shot by a family member, frequently the brother.  

The most common circumstance of unintentional gun deaths was an individual playing with a gun (47 percent).  In these situations, most of the time (60 percent), the person playing with the gun shot the victim (as opposed to the victim shooting himself). 

Most shootings (58 percent) occurred away from the victim’s home.  In shootings occurring away from the victim’s home, most of the time (60 percent), another person shot the victim.

How can I use it?

Use this data to advocate for child access prevention and childproof gun laws and to educate parents that they need to assure that homes their children visit do not have guns.  Also use it to educate people that if they own a gun, it is likely putting people they know at risk.

Citation

Hemenway, David, et al., “Unintentional Firearm Deaths: A Comparison of Other-Inflicted and Self-Inflicted Shootings,” Accident Analysis and Prevention 42(2010): 1184-1188.

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