Title: Surveillance for Violent Deaths - National Violent Death Reporting System, 16 States, 2006

Publication Date: March 20, 2009

What does it say?

Sixteen states now participate in the National Violent Death Reporting System, which collects information from death certificates, coroner/medical examiner reports, and police reports.  The states are Alaska, Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin.  California also participates but not yet statewide.

Homicides

Sixty-six percent of all murders are committed with guns.  The local of homicides (all methods) varies by gender: 73 percent of female murder victims are killed in the home, while only 45 percent of men are killed in the home.  Twenty-six percent of men are killed on the street.

Almost 40 percent of homicides were related to an argument or conflict not related to money or property, 32 percent were precipitated by another crime, and 20 percent were domestic violence related (note: more than one reason can apply to the same incident).  Of the homicides precipitated by another crime, in most cases the crime was in progress at the time of the incident. Thirty-seven percent were precipitated by a robbery; 24 percent by an assault.

Suicides

Fifty-one percent of suicides were committed with firearms.  Seventy-six percent of suicides occurred in a house or apartment.  One third of suicide victims had a crisis in the previous two weeks.

Unintentional Shooting Deaths

Forty percent of unintentional shooting death victims were under the age of 20.  Most unintentional shooting deaths occurred in November (18 percent), and most occurred in a house or apartment (73 percent). The most common context of the injury was playing with the gun (33 percent).  Twenty-five percent thought the gun was unloaded, 19 percent unintentionally pulled the trigger, and 11 percent thought the magazine was disengaged.

Legal Intervention

Of the 174 legal intervention deaths (a death in which a law enforcement officer lawfully kills a citizen), most (51 percent) were non-Hispanic whites and 35 percent were non-Hispanic blacks.  Forty-five percent occurred in a home, while 24 percent occurred on the street. 

Homicides Followed by Suicides

Eighty-two percent of homicides followed by suicides were committed with guns. Women made up the majority of the homicide victims (72 percent), while men were the shooters/suicides (95 percent).  Most (77 percent) happened in a house or apartment.   Eighty-eight percent of shooters/suicides had experienced a crisis during the previous 2 weeks.

How can I use it?

For the 16 states covered, the data indicate that firearms are a major contributor to violent deaths of all intents.  For many types of violent deaths, relationship problems, interpersonal conflicts, mental-health problems, and recent crises are among the primary precipitating factors.  Access to firearms increases the lethality of these incidents.  States with NVDRS can use the data to focus legislative solutions to save lives.  Advocates can access data from the 16 participating states via a query tool at: http://wisqars.cdc.gov:8080/nvdrs/nvdrsDisplay.jsp.

Citation

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Surveillance for Violent Deaths - National Violent Death Reporting System, 16 States, 2006,” Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 58(SS01) (March 20, 2009): 1-44.

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