|
|
During the 18-year period from 1999 to 2016, 2016 had the most firearm suicides (22,938), homicides (14,415), and the most firearm deaths from legal intervention (510). 1999 had the most unintentional firearm deaths (824) and the most firearm deaths with undetermined intent (324). Overall, firearm deaths were up 33.9% from 1999 to 2016. |
|
 |
|
Firearm Deaths, All Ages: 1999-2016 |
|
Suicides |
|
Homicides |
|
Unintentional |
|
Legal Intervention |
|
Undetermined Intent |
|
|
Year |
% of Total
Firearm Deaths
for Year* |
|
% of Total
Firearm Deaths
for Year |
|
% of Total
Firearm Deaths
for Year |
|
% of Total
Firearm Deaths
for Year |
|
% of Total
Firearm Deaths
for Year |
|
Total |
1999 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
28,874 |
2000 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
28,663 |
2001 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
29,573 |
2002 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
30,242 |
2003 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
30,136 |
2004 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
29,569 |
2005 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
30,694 |
2006 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
30,896 |
2007 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
31,224 |
2008 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
31,593 |
2009 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
31,347 |
2010 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
31,672 |
2011 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
32,351 |
2012 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
33,563 |
2013 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
33,636 |
2014 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
33,594 |
2015 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
36,252 |
2016 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
38,658 |
Total |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
572,537 |
Average
Per Year |
18,699 |
|
11,843 |
|
635 |
|
375 |
|
256 |
|
31,808 |
*Percentages are rounded to the nearest tenth (one decimal) so each year’s percentages may not add up to 100% exactly. |
|
There were 336,579 firearm suicides between 1999 and 2016. Firearms were the leading cause of suicide, representing 51.8% of all suicides. Suffocation was the second most frequent cause with 152,684 deaths. Adults 65 years old and older were most often the victims of gun suicides with 78,706 deaths between 1999 and 2016 (23.4% of total firearm suicides), with the most suicides in this age group (5,756) occurring in 2016. Overall, firearm suicides were up 38.2% from 1999 to 2016. |
|
 |
|
Firearm Suicides by Age, 1999-2016 |
Year |
5-9 |
10-14 |
15-24 |
25-34 |
35-44 |
45-54 |
55-64 |
65+ |
Age
Unknown |
Total |
1999 |
0 |
103 |
2,315 |
2,621 |
3,097 |
2,677 |
1,860 |
3,921 |
5 |
16,599 |
2000 |
0 |
110 |
2,267 |
2,453 |
3,191 |
2,858 |
1,833 |
3,869 |
5 |
16,586 |
2001 |
0 |
90 |
2,130 |
2,564 |
3,030 |
3,023 |
2,083 |
3,943 |
6 |
16,869 |
2002 |
0 |
86 |
2,088 |
2,399 |
3,157 |
3,136 |
2,234 |
4,006 |
2 |
17,108 |
2003 |
1 |
73 |
2,075 |
2,381 |
2,927 |
3,279 |
2,317 |
3,854 |
0 |
16,907 |
2004 |
0 |
59 |
2,104 |
2,283 |
2,868 |
3,349 |
2,328 |
3,756 |
3 |
16,750 |
2005 |
0 |
84 |
1,962 |
2,269 |
2,855 |
3,472 |
2,470 |
3,889 |
1 |
17,002 |
2006 |
0 |
62 |
1,978 |
2,150 |
2,821 |
3,481 |
2,562 |
3,828 |
1 |
16,883 |
2007 |
0 |
53 |
1,900 |
2,306 |
2,879 |
3,531 |
2,786 |
3,895 |
2 |
17,352 |
2008 |
0 |
50 |
2,009 |
2,357 |
2,796 |
3,789 |
3,079 |
4,143 |
0 |
18,223 |
2009 |
0 |
64 |
2,002 |
2,379 |
2,874 |
3,975 |
3,191 |
4,248 |
2 |
18,735 |
2010 |
1 |
80 |
2,046 |
2,594 |
2,914 |
4,092 |
3,387 |
4,276 |
2 |
19,392 |
2011 |
1 |
91 |
2,168 |
2,740 |
2,837 |
4,100 |
3,522 |
4,526 |
5 |
19,990 |
2012 |
1 |
104 |
2,218 |
2,760 |
2,924 |
4,113 |
3,747 |
4,796 |
3 |
20,666 |
2013 |
1 |
137 |
2,210 |
2,987 |
2,948 |
4,057 |
3,809 |
5,116 |
3 |
21,175 |
2014 |
0 |
174 |
2,280 |
2,834 |
2,839 |
3,960 |
3,922 |
5,376 |
1 |
21,386 |
2015 |
1 |
139 |
2,461 |
3,118 |
2,952 |
3,882 |
3,951 |
5,511 |
3 |
22,018 |
2016 |
0 |
160 |
2,683 |
3,298 |
3,099 |
3,873 |
4,067 |
5,756 |
2 |
22,938 |
Total |
6 |
1,719 |
38,896 |
46,403 |
53,008 |
64,647 |
53,148 |
78,706 |
46 |
336,579 |
Average
Per Year |
0 |
96 |
2,161 |
2,578 |
2,945 |
3,592 |
2,953 |
4,373 |
3 |
18,699 |
*There were no firearm suicides for children under 5. |
|
There were 213,175 firearm homicides between 1999 and 2016. Firearms were the leading cause of homicide, representing 67.7% of all homicides. Cuts or piercing (such as with a knife) were the second most frequent cause with 34,086 deaths. 15-24-year-olds were most often the victims of gun homicides with 75,151 deaths between 1999 and 2016, with the most deaths (4,827) occurring in 2006. Overall, firearm homicides were up 30.6% from 1999 to 2016.
|
|
 |
|
Firearm Homicides by Age, 1999-2016 |
Year |
<1 |
1-4 |
5-9 |
10-14 |
15-24 |
25-34 |
35-44 |
45-54 |
55-64 |
65+ |
Age
Unknown |
Total |
1999 |
8 |
50 |
61 |
163 |
4,038 |
3,048 |
1,868 |
893 |
373 |
311 |
15 |
10,828 |
2000 |
12 |
28 |
50 |
137 |
3,963 |
3,074 |
1,906 |
959 |
367 |
293 |
12 |
10,801 |
2001 |
11 |
55 |
59 |
121 |
4,200 |
3,308 |
1,978 |
934 |
364 |
307 |
11 |
11,348 |
2002 |
9 |
49 |
55 |
150 |
4,317 |
3,465 |
2,042 |
1,025 |
409 |
295 |
13 |
11,829 |
2003 |
8 |
40 |
48 |
139 |
4,410 |
3,540 |
1,941 |
1,110 |
394 |
272 |
18 |
11,920 |
2004 |
6 |
36 |
45 |
139 |
4,127 |
3,503 |
1,895 |
1,062 |
468 |
322 |
21 |
11,624 |
2005 |
6 |
37 |
44 |
143 |
4,499 |
3,780 |
2,010 |
1,097 |
405 |
322 |
9 |
12,352 |
2006 |
6 |
42 |
62 |
175 |
4,827 |
3,767 |
1,987 |
1,185 |
468 |
264 |
8 |
12,791 |
2007 |
15 |
48 |
47 |
154 |
4,669 |
3,751 |
2,038 |
1,159 |
446 |
296 |
9 |
12,632 |
2008 |
9 |
56 |
44 |
143 |
4,394 |
3,612 |
1,966 |
1,146 |
489 |
318 |
2 |
12,179 |
2009 |
11 |
55 |
53 |
115 |
4,051 |
3,300 |
1,869 |
1,152 |
520 |
361 |
6 |
11,493 |
2010 |
11 |
43 |
58 |
107 |
3,889 |
3,331 |
1,673 |
1,097 |
533 |
331 |
5 |
11,078 |
2011 |
7 |
48 |
55 |
107 |
3,825 |
3,271 |
1,718 |
1,147 |
546 |
344 |
0 |
11,068 |
2012 |
5 |
45 |
67 |
124 |
3,931 |
3,427 |
1,887 |
1,181 |
589 |
366 |
0 |
11,622 |
2013 |
12 |
39 |
48 |
94 |
3,704 |
3,372 |
1,843 |
1,158 |
573 |
357 |
8 |
11,208 |
2014 |
5 |
47 |
58 |
115 |
3,614 |
3,274 |
1,843 |
1,141 |
541 |
369 |
1 |
11,008 |
2015 |
8 |
50 |
69 |
121 |
4,140 |
3,996 |
2,197 |
1,299 |
681 |
417 |
1 |
12,979 |
2016 |
11 |
75 |
68 |
195 |
4,553 |
4,510 |
2,555 |
1,420 |
738 |
400 |
1 |
14,415 |
Total |
160 |
842 |
991 |
2,342 |
75,151 |
63,329 |
35,216 |
20,165 |
8,904 |
5,942 |
140 |
213,175 |
Average
Per Year |
9 |
47 |
55 |
130 |
4,175 |
3,518 |
1,956 |
1,120 |
495 |
330 |
8 |
11,843 |
|
|
IV. Unintentional Firearm Deaths |
There were 11,428 unintentional firearm deaths between 1999 and 2016. Firearms were the 16th leading cause of unintentional death representing 0.5% of all unintentional deaths. Traffic accidents were the leading cause with 702,925 deaths. 25-34-year-olds were most often the victims of unintentional gun deaths with 1,875 deaths between 1999 and 2016 (16.4% of total unintentional firearm deaths), with the most deaths in that age range (143) occurring in 1999. Overall, unintentional firearm deaths were down 39.9% from 1999 to 2016.
|
|
 |
|
Unintentional Firearm Deaths by Age, 1999-2016 |
Year |
<1 |
1-4 |
5-9 |
10-14 |
15-24 |
25-34 |
35-44 |
45-54 |
55-64 |
65+ |
Age Unknown |
Total |
1999 |
0 |
12 |
19 |
57 |
251 |
143 |
136 |
92 |
48 |
66 |
0 |
824 |
2000 |
1 |
18 |
18 |
49 |
202 |
131 |
153 |
78 |
50 |
76 |
0 |
776 |
2001 |
0 |
15 |
18 |
39 |
206 |
122 |
146 |
103 |
69 |
82 |
2 |
802 |
2002 |
1 |
11 |
14 |
34 |
210 |
143 |
123 |
95 |
56 |
75 |
0 |
762 |
2003 |
0 |
7 |
13 |
36 |
200 |
120 |
118 |
92 |
62 |
82 |
0 |
730 |
2004 |
1 |
14 |
13 |
35 |
172 |
100 |
97 |
106 |
35 |
76 |
0 |
649 |
2005 |
1 |
22 |
15 |
37 |
203 |
130 |
114 |
108 |
67 |
92 |
0 |
789 |
2006 |
0 |
13 |
18 |
23 |
193 |
113 |
74 |
84 |
49 |
75 |
0 |
642 |
2007 |
1 |
18 |
20 |
26 |
155 |
94 |
91 |
82 |
57 |
69 |
0 |
613 |
2008 |
0 |
21 |
12 |
29 |
132 |
89 |
85 |
99 |
57 |
68 |
0 |
592 |
2009 |
1 |
15 |
12 |
20 |
132 |
99 |
76 |
61 |
60 |
78 |
0 |
554 |
2010 |
0 |
25 |
11 |
26 |
145 |
107 |
91 |
89 |
50 |
62 |
0 |
606 |
2011 |
4 |
25 |
16 |
29 |
130 |
86 |
66 |
87 |
64 |
84 |
0 |
591 |
2012 |
6 |
23 |
7 |
22 |
119 |
90 |
64 |
79 |
69 |
69 |
0 |
548 |
2013 |
3 |
27 |
15 |
24 |
107 |
82 |
48 |
80 |
59 |
60 |
0 |
505 |
2014 |
1 |
22 |
14 |
12 |
109 |
63 |
61 |
63 |
44 |
71 |
1 |
461 |
2015 |
1 |
25 |
7 |
15 |
121 |
79 |
59 |
57 |
55 |
70 |
0 |
489 |
2014 |
1 |
35 |
16 |
23 |
121 |
84 |
29 |
67 |
63 |
57 |
0 |
495 |
Total |
22 |
348 |
258 |
536 |
2,908 |
1,875 |
1,631 |
1,522 |
1,014 |
1,312 |
3 |
11,428 |
Average
Per Year |
1 |
19 |
14 |
30 |
162 |
104 |
91 |
85 |
56 |
73 |
0 |
635 |
|
V. Legal Intervention Firearm Deaths |
Legal intervention firearm deaths include gun deaths by police officers, federal law enforcement agents, other law enforcement agents, and on-duty military personnel while the government official is in the process of arresting the victim or performing other job duties, including keeping the peace. There were 6,744 firearm deaths due to legal intervention between 1999 and 2016. 25-34-year-olds were most often the victims of legal intervention gun deaths with 2,044 deaths between 1999 and 2016 (30.3% of total legal intervention firearm deaths), with the most deaths (171) occurring in 2016. Overall, legal intervention firearm deaths were up 70.6% from 1999 to 2016. There was one legal intervention firearm death of a child under 1-year-old in 2009 and none other for children under 10.
|
|
 |
|
Legal Intervention Firearm Deaths by Age, 1999-2016 |
Year |
10-14 |
15-24 |
25-34 |
35-44 |
45-54 |
55-64 |
65+ |
Total |
1999 |
1 |
64 |
112 |
76 |
32 |
11 |
3 |
299 |
2000 |
3 |
72 |
79 |
69 |
33 |
7 |
7 |
270 |
2001 |
0 |
87 |
95 |
84 |
31 |
16 |
10 |
323 |
2002 |
3 |
86 |
87 |
74 |
36 |
8 |
6 |
300 |
2003 |
2 |
92 |
109 |
89 |
38 |
11 |
6 |
347 |
2004 |
0 |
79 |
90 |
82 |
42 |
8 |
10 |
311 |
2005 |
0 |
80 |
88 |
94 |
39 |
22 |
7 |
330 |
2006 |
1 |
81 |
114 |
91 |
56 |
12 |
5 |
360 |
2007 |
1 |
96 |
107 |
76 |
49 |
14 |
8 |
351 |
2008 |
0 |
80 |
91 |
76 |
53 |
17 |
9 |
326 |
2009 |
0 |
69 |
99 |
64 |
53 |
34 |
13 |
333 |
2010 |
1 |
68 |
86 |
86 |
58 |
36 |
9 |
344 |
2011 |
1 |
100 |
130 |
84 |
85 |
36 |
18 |
454 |
2012 |
1 |
116 |
135 |
99 |
75 |
36 |
9 |
471 |
2013 |
1 |
96 |
138 |
113 |
70 |
35 |
14 |
467 |
2014 |
1 |
79 |
160 |
106 |
76 |
30 |
12 |
464 |
2015 |
0 |
84 |
153 |
98 |
89 |
47 |
13 |
484 |
2016 |
2 |
76 |
171 |
132 |
71 |
43 |
15 |
510 |
Total |
18 |
1,505 |
2,044 |
1,593 |
986 |
423 |
174 |
6,744 |
Average
Per Year |
1 |
84 |
114 |
86 |
55 |
24 |
10 |
375 |
*There was one legal intervention firearm death of a child under 1-year-old in 2009 and none other for children under 10. |
|
VI. Firearm Deaths of Undetermined Intent |
There were 4,611 firearm deaths of undetermined intent between 1999 and 2016. The firearm deaths of 15-24 years olds most often were categorized as undetermined intent between 1999 and 2016 with 1,265 deaths (27.4% of total undetermined intent firearm deaths), with the most deaths (127) occurring in 1999. Overall, undetermined intent firearm deaths were down 7.4% from 1999 to 2016.
|
|
 |
|
Firearm Deaths of Undetermined Intent, by Age, 1999-2015 |
Year |
1-4 |
5-9 |
10-14 |
15-24 |
25-34 |
35-44 |
45-54 |
55-64 |
65+ |
Age
Unknown |
Total |
1999 |
3 |
0 |
12 |
127 |
51 |
57 |
28 |
14 |
32 |
0 |
324 |
2000 |
0 |
2 |
8 |
71 |
52 |
39 |
23 |
15 |
19 |
1 |
230 |
2001 |
0 |
2 |
4 |
64 |
48 |
50 |
29 |
12 |
22 |
0 |
231 |
2002 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
79 |
46 |
50 |
29 |
12 |
20 |
0 |
243 |
2003 |
1 |
1 |
11 |
69 |
38 |
43 |
31 |
20 |
18 |
0 |
232 |
2004 |
1 |
3 |
6 |
58 |
45 |
44 |
29 |
20 |
26 |
3 |
235 |
2005 |
3 |
3 |
9 |
77 |
35 |
28 |
28 |
23 |
15 |
0 |
221 |
2006 |
2 |
0 |
5 |
76 |
45 |
39 |
22 |
20 |
11 |
0 |
220 |
2007 |
3 |
2 |
10 |
82 |
44 |
36 |
40 |
35 |
24 |
0 |
276 |
2008 |
2 |
4 |
6 |
70 |
53 |
36 |
40 |
32 |
28 |
2 |
273 |
2009 |
2 |
1 |
4 |
42 |
40 |
38 |
48 |
33 |
23 |
0 |
232 |
2010 |
3 |
3 |
11 |
53 |
54 |
26 |
44 |
33 |
25 |
0 |
252 |
2011 |
2 |
1 |
10 |
62 |
44 |
39 |
29 |
34 |
27 |
0 |
248 |
2012 |
2 |
0 |
4 |
67 |
52 |
32 |
34 |
35 |
30 |
0 |
256 |
2013 |
1 |
1 |
6 |
64 |
66 |
43 |
29 |
42 |
29 |
0 |
281 |
2014 |
2 |
3 |
5 |
57 |
46 |
40 |
51 |
34 |
36 |
1 |
275 |
2015 |
3 |
1 |
3 |
77 |
60 |
31 |
34 |
32 |
41 |
0 |
282 |
2016 |
3 |
4 |
9 |
70 |
65 |
52 |
27 |
31 |
38 |
1 |
300 |
Total |
34 |
33 |
127 |
1,265 |
884 |
723 |
596 |
477 |
64 |
8 |
4,611 |
Average
Per Year |
2 |
2 |
7 |
70 |
49 |
40 |
33 |
27 |
4 |
0 |
256 |
*There was one undetermined intent firearm death of a child under 1 in 2009, and no other for that age group. |
Source: CDC, WISQARS Database, cdc.gov (accessed July 17, 2018) |