Marianne W. Zawitz, Kevin J. Strom, Bureau of Justice Statistics

October 8, 2000    NCJ 182993

Reports on the incidence of fatal and nonfatal firearm injuries that result from crime. Most of the data presented are from the FBIs Supplementary Homicide Reports and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Vital Statistics and the Firearms Injury Surveillance Study which collects data on injuries treated in hospital emergency departments. This BJS Report includes descriptions of victim characteristics and circumstances surrounding the crimes. Data about the number of law enforcement officers injured or killed by firearms are also included.

Highlights:

• Of serious nonfatal violent victimizations, 28% were committed with a firearm, 4% were committed with a firearm and resulted in injury, and less than 1% resulted in gunshot wounds.
• Of all nonfatal firearm-related injuries treated in emergency departments, 62% were known to have resulted from an assault. For firearm-related fatalities, 44% were homicides.
• The number of gunshot wounds from assaults treated in hospital emergency departments fell from 64,100 in 1993 to 39,400 in 1997, a 39% decline. Homicides committed with a firearm fell from 18,300 in 1993 to 13,300 in 1997, a 27% decline.

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