Wednesday, December 6, 2023
| Characteristic | Male | Female | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. (%) | Rate | No. (%) | Rate | No. (%) | Rate | |
| Age group (yrs) | ||||||
| 10–14 | 280 (1.0) | 3.7 | 152 (2.0) | 2.1 | 432 (1.2) | 2.9 |
| 15–19 | 1,353 (5.0) | 17.5 | 394 (5.2) | 5.3 | 1,747 (5.0) | 11.5 |
| 20–24 | 2,311 (8.5) | 28.6 | 496 (6.5) | 6.4 | 2,807 (8.1) | 17.7 |
| 25–29 | 2,392 (8.8) | 27.6 | 572 (7.5) | 6.9 | 2,965 (8.5) | 17.4 |
| 30–34 | 2,224 (8.2) | 27.6 | 623 (8.2) | 7.9 | 2,848 (8.2) | 17.9 |
| 35–44 | 4,183 (15.4) | 28.4 | 1,259 (16.5) | 8.5 | 5,442 (15.7) | 18.4 |
| 45–54 | 4,480 (16.5) | 30.2 | 1,530 (20.1) | 10.0 | 6,010 (17.3) | 20.0 |
| 55–64 | 4,678 (17.3) | 31.4 | 1,504 (19.7) | 9.4 | 6,182 (17.8) | 20.0 |
| 65–74 | 2,766 (10.2) | 26.9 | 738 (9.7) | 6.3 | 3,504 (10.1) | 15.9 |
| 75–84 | 1,691 (6.2) | 35.3 | 243 (3.2) | 3.9 | 1,934 (5.6) | 17.5 |
| ≥85 | 737 (2.7) | 44.4 | 104 (1.4) | 3.4 | 841 (2.4) | 17.7 |
| Unknown | 13 (<1.0) | —†† | 1 (<1.0) | — | 14 (<1.0) | — |
| Race/Ethnicity | ||||||
| White, non-Hispanic | 21,960 (81.0) | 32.7 | 6,124 (80.4) | 8.8 | 28,086 (80.9) | 20.5 |
| Black, non-Hispanic | 1,925 (7.1) | 14.9 | 509 (6.7) | 3.5 | 2,434 (7.0) | 8.9 |
| American Indian or Alaska Native, non-Hispanic | 413 (1.5) | 45.6 | 124 (1.6) | 12.9 | 537 (1.5) | 28.8 |
| Asian or Pacific Islander, non-Hispanic | 749 (2.8) | 12.7 | 328 (4.3) | 5.0 | 1,077 (3.1) | 8.7 |
| Hispanic§§ | 1,979 (7.3) | 13.7 | 507 (6.7) | 3.6 | 2,486 (7.2) | 8.7 |
| Other race or ethnicity | 64 (<1.0) | — | 23 (<1.0) | — | 87 (<1.0) | — |
| Unknown | 18 (<1.0) | — | 1 (<1.0) | — | 19 (<1.0) | — |
| Method | ||||||
| Firearm | 14,493 (53.5) | 14.3 | 2,234 (29.3) | 2.1 | 16,727 (48.2) | 8.1 |
| Hanging, strangulation, or suffocation | 7,873 (29.0) | 7.8 | 2,360 (31.0) | 2.2 | 10,235 (29.5) | 4.9 |
| Poisoning | 2,078 (7.7) | 2.1 | 2,230 (29.3) | 2.1 | 4,308 (12.4) | 2.1 |
| Fall | 639 (2.4) | 0.6 | 236 (3.1) | 0.2 | 875 (2.5) | 0.4 |
| Sharp instrument | 548 (2.0) | 0.5 | 124 (1.6) | 0.1 | 672 (1.9) | 0.3 |
| Motor vehicle (e.g., bus, motorcycle, or other transport vehicle) | 445 (1.6) | 0.4 | 119 (1.6) | 0.1 | 564 (1.6) | 0.3 |
| Drowning | 206 (<1.0) | 0.2 | 121 (1.6) | 0.1 | 327 (<1.0) | 0.2 |
| Fire or burns | 106 (<1.0) | 0.1 | 40 (<1.0) | <0.1 | 146 (<1.0) | <0.1 |
| Blunt instrument | 34 (<1.0) | <0.1 | 11 (<1.0) | — | 45 (<1.0) | <0.1 |
| Other (e.g., Taser, electrocution, nail gun, intentional neglect, or personal weapon) | 39 (<1.0) | — | 14 (<1.0) | — | 53 (<1.0) | — |
| Unknown | 647 (2.4) | — | 127 (1.7) | — | 774 (2.2) | — |
| Location | ||||||
| House or apartment | 18,958 (69.9) | 18.7 | 5,962 (78.3) | 5.6 | 24,921 (71.8) | 12.0 |
| Motor vehicle | 1,474 (5.4) | 1.5 | 309 (4.1) | 0.3 | 1,784 (5.1) | 0.9 |
| Natural area | 1,376 (5.1) | 1.4 | 262 (3.4) | 0.3 | 1,638 (4.7) | 0.8 |
| Hotel or motel | 562 (2.1) | 0.6 | 225 (3.0) | 0.2 | 787 (2.3) | 0.4 |
| Street or highway | 674 (2.5) | 0.7 | 105 (1.4) | 0.1 | 779 (2.2) | 0.4 |
| Park, playground, or sports or athletic area | 468 (1.7) | 0.5 | 62 (<1.0) | <0.1 | 530 (1.5) | 0.3 |
| Parking lot, public garage, or public transport | 431 (1.6) | 0.4 | 75 (<1.0) | <0.1 | 506 (1.5) | 0.2 |
| Jail or prison | 432 (1.6) | 0.4 | 47 (<1.0) | <0.1 | 479 (1.4) | 0.2 |
| Bridge | 229 (<1.0) | 0.2 | 69 (<1.0) | <0.1 | 298 (<1.0) | 0.1 |
| Railroad track | 179 (<1.0) | 0.2 | 60 (<1.0) | <0.1 | 239 (<1.0) | 0.1 |
| Commercial or retail area | 196 (<1.0) | 0.2 | 27 (<1.0) | <0.1 | 223 (<1.0) | 0.1 |
| Supervised residential facility | 109 (<1.0) | 0.1 | 38 (<1.0) | <0.1 | 147 (<1.0) | <0.1 |
| Hospital or medical facility | 100 (<1.0) | 0.1 | 27 (<1.0) | <0.1 | 127 (<1.0) | <0.1 |
| Cemetery, graveyard, or other burial ground | 84 (<1.0) | <0.1 | 13 (<1.0) | — | 97 (<1.0) | <0.1 |
| Industrial or construction area | 87 (<1.0) | <0.1 | 8 (<1.0) | — | 95 (<1.0) | <0.1 |
| Preschool, school, college, or school bus | 79 (<1.0) | <0.1 | 16 (<1.0) | — | 95 (<1.0) | <0.1 |
| Farm | 89 (<1.0) | <0.1 | 6 (<1.0) | — | 95 (<1.0) | <0.1 |
| Other location¶¶ | 474 (1.7) | — | 67 (<1.0) | — | 541 (1.6) | — |
| Unknown | 1,107 (4.1) | — | 238 (3.1) | — | 1,345 (3.9) | — |
| Total | 27,108 (100.0) | 26.8 | 7,616 (100.0) | 7.2 | 34,726 (100.0) | 16.8 |
Table 1. Number, percentage,* and rate† of suicides among persons aged ≥10 years,§ by selected demographic characteristics of decedent,¶ method used, and location in which injury occurred — National Violent Death Reporting System, 39 states and the District of Columbia, 2018**
* Percentages might not total 100% due to rounding.
† Per 100,000 population.
§ Suicide is not reported for decedents aged <10 years, as per standard in the suicide prevention literature. Denominators for suicide rates represent the total population aged ≥10 years.
¶ Sex was unknown for two decedents.
** Data for all violent deaths were collected in 36 states (Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin), and the District of Columbia. Three states (California, Illinois, and Pennsylvania) collected data from a subset of counties in their state. Data for violent deaths that occurred in Illinois include 28 counties that represent 86% of the state’s population (Adams, Boone, Champaign, Cook, DuPage, Effingham, Fulton, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Lake, Lasalle, Livingston, Logan, McDonough, McHenry, McLean, Macoupin, Madison, Peoria, Perry, Rock Island, St. Clair, Sangamon, Tazewell, Vermillion, Will, and Winnebago). Data for violent deaths that occurred in Pennsylvania include 39 counties that represent 82.2% of the state’s population (Adams, Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Berks, Blair, Bradford, Bucks, Cambria, Carbon, Centre, Chester, Clarion, Clearfield, Clinton, Columbia, Crawford, Dauphin, Delaware, Fayette, Forest, Greene, Indiana, Jefferson, Lackawanna, Lancaster, Lehigh, Luzerne, Monroe, Montgomery, Montour, Northampton, Philadelphia, Schuylkill, Union, Wayne, Westmoreland, Wyoming, and York). Data for violent deaths that occurred in California include 21 counties that represent 54% of the state’s population (Amador, Butte, Fresno, Humstrongt, Imperial, Kern, Kings, Lake, Los Angeles, Marin, Mono, Placer, Sacramento, San Benito, San Diego, San Francisco, San Mateo, Shasta, Siskiyou, Ventura, and Yolo). Denominators for the rates for these three states (California, Illinois, and Pennsylvania) represent only the populations of the counties from which the data were collected.
†† Rate is not reported when the number of decedents is <20 or when the characteristic response is “other” or “unknown.”
§§ Includes persons of any race.
¶¶ Other location includes (in descending order) office building; abandoned house, building, or warehouse; synagogue, church, or temple; bar or nightclub; and other unspecified location.
| Toxicology variable | Tested | Positive |
|---|---|---|
| No. (%) | No. (%) | |
| Blood alcohol concentration¶ | 18,179 (52.3) | 7,240 (39.8) |
| Alcohol <0.08 g/dL | 2,003 (27.7) | |
| Alcohol ≥0.08 g/dL | 4,636 (64.0) | |
| Alcohol positive — level unknown | 601 (8.3) | |
| Amphetamines | 14,328 (41.3) | 1,996 (13.9) |
| Anticonvulsants | 7,668 (22.1) | 1,180 (15.4) |
| Antidepressants | 9,793 (28.2) | 3,516 (35.9) |
| Antipsychotics | 7,516 (21.6) | 842 (11.2) |
| Barbiturates | 12,248 (35.3) | 260 (2.1) |
| Benzodiazepines | 14,288 (41.1) | 3,513 (24.6) |
| Carbon monoxide | 2,041 (5.9) | 684 (33.5) |
| Cocaine | 14,510 (41.8) | 1,039 (7.2) |
| Marijuana | 12,297 (35.4) | 2,896 (23.6) |
| Muscle relaxant | 7,853 (22.6) | 490 (6.2) |
| Opioids | 15,210 (43.8) | 3,449 (22.7) |
| Other drugs or substances** | 7,583 (21.8) | 6,571 (86.7) |
Table 2. Number* and percentage of suicide decedents tested for alcohol and drugs whose results were positive,† by toxicology variable — National Violent Death Reporting System, 39 states and the District of Columbia, 2018§
* Number of suicide decedents = 34,726.
† Percentage is of decedents tested for toxicology. Denominator for the percentage positive is the percentage tested.
§ Data for all violent deaths were collected in 36 states (Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin), and the District of Columbia. Three states (California, Illinois, and Pennsylvania) collected data from a subset of counties in their state. Data for violent deaths that occurred in Illinois include 28 counties that represent 86% of the state’s population (Adams, Boone, Champaign, Cook, DuPage, Effingham, Fulton, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Lake, Lasalle, Livingston, Logan, McDonough, McHenry, McLean, Macoupin, Madison, Peoria, Perry, Rock Island, St. Clair, Sangamon, Tazewell, Vermillion, Will, and Winnebago). Data for violent deaths that occurred in Pennsylvania include 39 counties that represent 82.2% of the state’s population (Adams, Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Berks, Blair, Bradford, Bucks, Cambria, Carbon, Centre, Chester, Clarion, Clearfield, Clinton, Columbia, Crawford, Dauphin, Delaware, Fayette, Forest, Greene, Indiana, Jefferson, Lackawanna, Lancaster, Lehigh, Luzerne, Monroe, Montgomery, Montour, Northampton, Philadelphia, Schuylkill, Union, Wayne, Westmoreland, Wyoming, and York). Data for violent deaths that occurred in California include 21 counties that represent 54% of the state’s population (Amador, Butte, Fresno, Humboldt, Imperial, Kern, Kings, Lake, Los Angeles, Marin, Mono, Placer, Sacramento, San Benito, San Diego, San Francisco, San Mateo, Shasta, Siskiyou, Ventura, and Yolo). Denominators for the rates for these three states (California, Illinois, and Pennsylvania) represent only the populations of the counties from which the data were collected.
¶ Blood alcohol concentration of ≥0.08 g/dL is greater than the legal limit in all states and the District of Columbia and is used as the standard for intoxication.
** Other drugs or substances indicated whether any results were positive; levels for these drugs or substances are not measured.
| Precipitating circumstance | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. (%) | No. (%) | No. (%) | |
| Mental health or substance use | |||
| Current diagnosed mental health problem** | 10,736 (45.3) | 4,495 (64.7) | 15,233 (49.7) |
| Depression or dysthymia | 7,972 (74.3) | 3,457 (76.9) | 11,431 (75.0) |
| Anxiety disorder | 1,905 (17.7) | 1,126 (25.1) | 3,032 (19.9) |
| Bipolar disorder | 1,388 (12.9) | 877 (19.5) | 2,265 (14.9) |
| Schizophrenia | 690 (6.4) | 219 (4.9) | 909 (6.0) |
| PTSD | 611 (5.7) | 187 (4.2) | 798 (5.2) |
| ADD/ADHD | 379 (3.5) | 68 (1.5) | 447 (2.9) |
| OCD | 70 (<1.0) | 21 (<1.0) | 91 (<1.0) |
| Eating disorder | 9 (<1.0) | 29 (<1.0) | 38 (<1.0) |
| Other | 690 (6.4) | 222 (4.9) | 912 (6.0) |
| Unknown | 815 (7.6) | 356 (7.9) | 1,171 (7.7) |
| History of ever being treated for a mental health problem | 7,608 (32.1) | 3,461 (49.8) | 11,070 (36.1) |
| Current depressed mood | 8,127 (34.3) | 2,384 (34.3) | 10,511 (34.3) |
| Current mental health treatment | 5,311 (22.4) | 2,679 (38.6) | 7,991 (26.1) |
| Alcohol problem | 4,690 (19.8) | 1,099 (15.8) | 5,789 (18.9) |
| Substance use problem (excludes alcohol) | 4,034 (17.0) | 1,249 (18.0) | 5,283 (17.2) |
| Other addiction (e.g., gambling or sexual) | 158 (<1.0) | 42 (<1.0) | 200 (<1.0) |
| Interpersonal | |||
| Intimate partner problem | 6,621 (27.9) | 1,655 (23.8) | 8,277 (27.0) |
| Family relationship problem | 2,027 (8.5) | 793 (11.4) | 2,820 (9.2) |
| Other death of family member or friend | 1,523 (6.4) | 543 (7.8) | 2,066 (6.7) |
| Suicide of family member or friend | 582 (2.5) | 236 (3.4) | 818 (2.7) |
| Perpetrator of interpersonal violence during past month | 648 (2.7) | 59 (<1.0) | 707 (2.3) |
| Other relationship problem (nonintimate) | 499 (2.1) | 132 (1.9) | 631 (2.1) |
| Victim of interpersonal violence during past month | 61 (<1.0) | 77 (1.1) | 138 (<1.0) |
| Life stressor | |||
| Crisis during previous or upcoming 2 weeks | 7,583 (32.0) | 1,835 (26.4) | 9,419 (30.7) |
| Physical health problem | 5,121 (21.6) | 1,397 (20.1) | 6,518 (21.3) |
| Argument or conflict | 3,753 (15.8) | 1,123 (16.2) | 4,876 (15.9) |
| Job problem | 2,447 (10.3) | 417 (6.0) | 2,864 (9.3) |
| Financial problem | 2,187 (9.2) | 505 (7.3) | 2,693 (8.8) |
| Recent criminal legal problem | 2,176 (9.2) | 233 (3.4) | 2,409 (7.9) |
| Eviction or loss of home | 864 (3.6) | 262 (3.8) | 1,127 (3.7) |
| Non-criminal legal problem | 874 (3.7) | 238 (3.4) | 1,112 (3.6) |
| School problem | 375 (1.6) | 123 (1.8) | 498 (1.6) |
| History of child abuse or neglect | 223 (<1.0) | 141 (2.0) | 364 (1.2) |
| Physical fight (two persons, not a brawl) | 250 (1.1) | 42 (<1.0) | 292 (<1.0) |
| Traumatic anniversary | 151 (<1.0) | 67 (<1.0) | 218 (<1.0) |
| Exposure to disaster | 58 (<1.0) | 4 (<1.0) | 62 (<1.0) |
| Caretaker abuse or neglect led to suicide | 15 (<1.0) | 15 (<1.0) | 30 (<1.0) |
| Crime and criminal activity | |||
| Precipitated by another crime | 1,030 (4.3) | 92 (1.3) | 1,122 (3.7) |
| Crime in progress†† | 348 (33.8) | 27 (29.3) | 375 (33.4) |
| Suicide event | |||
| History of suicidal thoughts or plans | 8,042 (33.9) | 2,692 (38.8) | 10,735 (35.0) |
| Left a suicide note | 7,471 (31.5) | 2,765 (39.8) | 10,238 (33.4) |
| History of suicide attempt(s) | 3,895 (16.4) | 2,321 (33.4) | 6,217 (20.3) |
| Suicide disclosure | |||
| Disclosed suicidal intent§§ | 5,759 (24.3) | 1,635 (23.5) | 7,395 (24.1) |
| To previous or current intimate partner | 2,246 (39.0) | 544 (33.3) | 2,790 (37.7) |
| To other family member | 1,702 (29.5) | 528 (32.3) | 2,230 (30.1) |
| To friend or colleague | 687 (11.9) | 218 (13.3) | 905 (12.2) |
| To health care worker | 238 (4.1) | 88 (5.4) | 327 (4.4) |
| To neighbor | 65 (1.1) | 24 (1.5) | 89 (1.2) |
| To other person | 492 (8.5) | 118 (7.2) | 610 (8.2) |
| Unknown | 332 (5.8) | 115 (7.0) | 447 (6.0) |
| Total¶¶ | 23,723 (87.5) | 6,943 (91.2) | 30,668 (88.3) |
Table 3. Number* and percentage† of suicides among persons aged ≥10 years,§ by decedent’s sex and precipitating circumstance — National Violent Death Reporting System, 39 states and the District of Columbia, 2018¶
Abbreviations: ADD/ADHD = attention deficit disorder/attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; OCD = obsessive-compulsive disorder; PTSD = posttraumatic stress disorder.
* Includes suicides with one or more precipitating circumstances. More than one circumstance could have been present per decedent.
† Denominator includes those suicides with one or more precipitating circumstances. The sums of percentages in columns exceed 100% because more than one circumstance could have been present per decedent.
§ Suicide is not reported for decedents aged <10 years, as per standard in the suicide prevention literature.
¶ Data for all violent deaths were collected in 36 states (Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin), and the District of Columbia. Three states (California, Illinois, and Pennsylvania) collected data from a subset of counties in their state. Data for violent deaths that occurred in Illinois include 28 counties that represent 86% of the state’s population (Adams, Boone, Champaign, Cook, DuPage, Effingham, Fulton, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Lake, Lasalle, Livingston, Logan, McDonough, McHenry, McLean, Macoupin, Madison, Peoria, Perry, Rock Island, St. Clair, Sangamon, Tazewell, Vermillion, Will, and Winnebago). Data for violent deaths that occurred in Pennsylvania include 39 counties that represent 82.2% of the state’s population (Adams, Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Berks, Blair, Bradford, Bucks, Cambria, Carbon, Centre, Chester, Clarion, Clearfield, Clinton, Columbia, Crawford, Dauphin, Delaware, Fayette, Forest, Greene, Indiana, Jefferson, Lackawanna, Lancaster, Lehigh, Luzerne, Monroe, Montgomery, Montour, Northampton, Philadelphia, Schuylkill, Union, Wayne, Westmoreland, Wyoming, and York). Data for violent deaths that occurred in California include 21 counties that represent 54% of the state’s population (Amador, Butte, Fresno, Humboldt, Imperial, Kern, Kings, Lake, Los Angeles, Marin, Mono, Placer, Sacramento, San Benito, San Diego, San Francisco, San Mateo, Shasta, Siskiyou, Ventura, and Yolo). Denominators for the rates for these three states (California, Illinois, and Pennsylvania) represent only the populations of the counties from which the data were collected.
** Includes decedents with one or more diagnosed current mental health problems; therefore, sums of percentages for the diagnosed conditions exceed 100%. Denominator includes the number of decedents with one or more current diagnosed mental health problems.
†† Denominator includes those decedents involved in an incident that was precipitated by another crime.
§§ Denominator includes decedents who disclosed intent.
¶¶ Circumstances were unknown for 4,058 decedents (3,385 males and 673 females); total number of suicide decedents = 34,726 (27,108 males, 7,616 females, and two unknown).
| Characteristic | Male | Female | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. (%) | Rate | No. (%) | Rate | No. (%) | Rate | |
| Age group (yrs) | ||||||
| <1 | 115 (1.1) | 8.2 | 84 (3.0) | 6.3 | 199 (1.5) | 7.3 |
| 1–4 | 149 (1.4) | 2.6 | 105 (3.7) | 1.9 | 254 (1.9) | 2.2 |
| 5–9 | 44 (<1.0) | 0.6 | 32 (1.1) | 0.5 | 76 (<1.0) | 0.5 |
| 10–14 | 56 (<1.0) | 0.7 | 43 (1.5) | 0.6 | 99 (<1.0) | 0.7 |
| 15–19 | 1,022 (9.6) | 13.2 | 182 (6.4) | 2.5 | 1,204 (9.0) | 8.0 |
| 20–24 | 1,764 (16.6) | 21.8 | 317 (11.2) | 4.1 | 2,081 (15.5) | 13.2 |
| 25–29 | 1,840 (17.3) | 21.3 | 326 (11.5) | 3.9 | 2,166 (16.1) | 12.7 |
| 30–34 | 1,344 (12.7) | 16.7 | 276 (9.7) | 3.5 | 1,620 (12.1) | 10.2 |
| 35–44 | 1,925 (18.1) | 13.1 | 470 (16.6) | 3.2 | 2,395 (17.8) | 8.1 |
| 45–54 | 1,124 (10.6) | 7.6 | 365 (12.9) | 2.4 | 1,489 (11.1) | 4.9 |
| 55–64 | 739 (7.0) | 5.0 | 277 (9.8) | 1.7 | 1,016 (7.6) | 3.3 |
| 65–74 | 328 (3.1) | 3.2 | 194 (6.9) | 1.7 | 522 (3.9) | 2.4 |
| 75–84 | 112 (1.1) | 2.3 | 106 (3.7) | 1.7 | 218 (1.6) | 2.0 |
| ≥85 | 45 (<1.0) | 2.7 | 54 (1.9) | 1.8 | 99 (<1.0) | 2.1 |
| Unknown | 3 (<1.0) | —** | 0 (0) | — | 3 (<1.0) | — |
| Race/Ethnicity | ||||||
| White, non-Hispanic | 2,489 (23.5) | 3.3 | 1,317 (46.5) | 1.7 | 3,806 (28.3) | 2.5 |
| Black, non-Hispanic | 6,218 (58.6) | 40.9 | 1,045 (36.9) | 6.3 | 7,263 (54.0) | 22.8 |
| American Indian or Alaska Native, non-Hispanic | 194 (1.8) | 18.2 | 59 (2.1) | 5.3 | 253 (1.9) | 11.6 |
| Asian or Pacific Islander, non-Hispanic | 158 (1.5) | 2.4 | 73 (2.6) | 1.0 | 231 (1.7) | 1.6 |
| Hispanic†† | 1,512 (14.3) | 8.6 | 329 (11.6) | 1.9 | 1,841 (13.7) | 5.3 |
| Other race or ethnicity | 34 (<1.0) | — | 6 (<1.0) | — | 40 (<1.0) | — |
| Unknown | 5 (<1.0) | — | 2 (<1.0) | — | 7 (<1.0) | — |
| Method | ||||||
| Firearm | 8,035 (75.7) | 6.9 | 1,569 (55.4) | 1.3 | 9,604 (71.5) | 4.1 |
| Sharp instrument | 983 (9.3) | 0.9 | 438 (15.5) | 0.4 | 1,421 (10.6) | 0.6 |
| Blunt instrument | 373 (3.5) | 0.3 | 197 (7.0) | 0.2 | 570 (4.2) | 0.2 |
| Personal weapons (e.g., hands, feet, or fists) | 366 (3.4) | 0.3 | 139 (4.9) | 0.1 | 505 (3.8) | 0.2 |
| Hanging, strangulation, or suffocation | 120 (1.1) | 0.1 | 188 (6.6) | 0.2 | 308 (2.3) | 0.1 |
| Motor vehicle (e.g., bus, motorcycle, or other transport vehicle) | 89 (<1.0) | <0.1 | 36 (1.3) | <0.1 | 125 (<1.0) | <0.1 |
| Fire or burns | 35 (<1.0) | <0.1 | 36 (1.3) | <0.1 | 71 (<1.0) | <0.1 |
| Poisoning | 42 (<1.0) | <0.1 | 23 (<1.0) | <0.1 | 65 (<1.0) | <0.1 |
| Intentional neglect | 25 (<1.0) | <0.1 | 26 (<1.0) | <0.1 | 51 (<1.0) | <0.1 |
| Fall | 30 (<1.0) | <0.1 | 8 (<1.0) | — | 38 (<1.0) | <0.1 |
| Shaking (e.g., shaken baby syndrome) | 17 (<1.0) | — | 12 (<1.0) | — | 29 (<1.0) | <0.1 |
| Drowning | 7 (<1.0) | — | 8 (<1.0) | — | 15 (<1.0) | — |
| Other (e.g., Taser, electrocution, or nail gun) | 16 (<1.0) | — | 10 (<1.0) | — | 26 (<1.0) | — |
| Unknown | 472 (4.4) | — | 141 (5.0) | — | 613 (4.6) | — |
| Location | ||||||
| House or apartment | 4,177 (39.4) | 3.6 | 1,837 (64.9) | 1.5 | 6,014 (44.7) | 2.6 |
| Street or highway | 2,606 (24.6) | 2.3 | 238 (8.4) | 0.2 | 2,844 (21.2) | 1.2 |
| Motor vehicle | 1,092 (10.3) | 0.9 | 216 (7.6) | 0.2 | 1,308 (9.7) | 0.6 |
| Parking lot, public garage, or public transport | 493 (4.6) | 0.4 | 42 (1.5) | <0.1 | 535 (4.0) | 0.2 |
| Commercial or retail area | 413 (3.9) | 0.4 | 57 (2.0) | <0.1 | 470 (3.5) | 0.2 |
| Natural area | 181 (1.7) | 0.2 | 56 (2.0) | <0.1 | 237 (1.8) | 0.1 |
| Park, playground, or sports or athletic area | 154 (1.5) | 0.1 | 26 (<1.0) | <0.1 | 180 (1.3) | <0.1 |
| Bar or nightclub | 156 (1.5) | 0.1 | 5 (<1.0) | — | 161 (1.2) | <0.1 |
| Hotel or motel | 85 (<1.0) | <0.1 | 47 (1.7) | <0.1 | 132 (<1.0) | <0.1 |
| Jail or prison | 89 (<1.0) | <0.1 | 0 (0) | — | 89 (<1.0) | <0.1 |
| Abandoned house, building, or warehouse | 63 (<1.0) | <0.1 | 16 (<1.0) | — | 79 (<1.0) | <0.1 |
| Supervised residential facility | 26 (<1.0) | <0.1 | 19 (<1.0) | — | 45 (<1.0) | <0.1 |
| Other location§§ | 219 (2.1) | — | 58 (2.0) | — | 277 (2.1) | — |
| Unknown | 856 (8.1) | — | 214 (7.6) | — | 1,070 (8.0) | — |
| Relationship of victim to suspect¶¶ | ||||||
| Acquaintance or friend | 1,220 (31.6) | 1.1 | 217 (11.7) | 0.2 | 1,437 (25.1) | 0.6 |
| Spouse or intimate partner (current or former) | 321 (8.3) | 0.3 | 942 (50.6) | 0.8 | 1,263 (22.1) | 0.5 |
| Other person, known to victim | 791 (20.5) | 0.7 | 139 (7.5) | 0.1 | 930 (16.2) | 0.4 |
| Stranger | 646 (16.7) | 0.6 | 108 (5.8) | <0.1 | 754 (13.2) | 0.3 |
| Other relative | 291 (7.5) | 0.3 | 148 (7.9) | 0.1 | 439 (7.7) | 0.2 |
| Child*** | 222 (5.7) | 0.2 | 150 (8.1) | 0.1 | 372 (6.5) | 0.2 |
| Parent*** | 173 (4.5) | 0.2 | 117 (6.3) | 0.1 | 290 (5.1) | 0.1 |
| Child of suspect's boyfriend or girlfriend (e.g., child killed by mother's boyfriend) | 61 (1.6) | <0.1 | 32 (1.7) | <0.1 | 93 (1.6) | <0.1 |
| Rival gang member | 71 (1.8) | <0.1 | 6 (<1.0) | — | 77 (1.3) | <0.1 |
| Other relationship+++ | 67 (1.7) | — | 3 (<1.0) | — | 70 (1.2) | — |
| Total | 10,610 (100.0) | 9.2 | 2,831 (100.0) | 2.4 | 13,441 (100.0) | 5.7 |
Table 4. Number, percentage,* and rate† of homicides, by selected demographic characteristics of decedent, method used, location in which injury occurred, and victim-suspect relationship§ — National Violent Death Reporting System, 39 states and the District of Columbia, 2018¶
* Percentages might not total 100% due to rounding.
† Per 100,000 population.
§ The following statement can be used as a general guide for interpreting the victim-suspect relationship: “The victim is the [insert relationship] of the suspect.” For example, when a parent kills a child, the relationship is “child,” not “parent” (The victim is the child of the suspect.). Some relationships might not be captured by this sentence (e.g., if the other person is known to the victim or if the victim was a law enforcement officer killed in the line of duty).
¶ Data for all violent deaths were collected in 36 states (Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin), and the District of Columbia. Three states (California, Illinois, and Pennsylvania) collected data from a subset of counties in their state. Data for violent deaths that occurred in Illinois include 28 counties that represent 86% of the state’s population (Adams, Boone, Champaign, Cook, DuPage, Effingham, Fulton, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Lake, Lasalle, Livingston, Logan, McDonough, McHenry, McLean, Macoupin, Madison, Peoria, Perry, Rock Island, St. Clair, Sangamon, Tazewell, Vermillion, Will, and Winnebago). Data for violent deaths that occurred in Pennsylvania include 39 counties that represent 82.2% of the state’s population (Adams, Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Berks, Blair, Bradford, Bucks, Cambria, Carbon, Centre, Chester, Clarion, Clearfield, Clinton, Columbia, Crawford, Dauphin, Delaware, Fayette, Forest, Greene, Indiana, Jefferson, Lackawanna, Lancaster, Lehigh, Luzerne, Monroe, Montgomery, Montour, Northampton, Philadelphia, Schuylkill, Union, Wayne, Westmoreland, Wyoming, and York). Data for violent deaths that occurred in California include 21 counties that represent 54% of the state’s population (Amador, Butte, Fresno, Humboldt, Imperial, Kern, Kings, Lake, Los Angeles, Marin, Mono, Placer, Sacramento, San Benito, San Diego, San Francisco, San Mateo, Shasta, Siskiyou, Ventura, and Yolo). Denominators for the rates for these three states (California, Illinois, and Pennsylvania) represent only the populations of the counties from which the data were collected.
** Rates are not reported when the number of decedents is <20 or when the characteristic response is “other” or “unknown.”
†† Includes persons of any race.
§§ Other location includes (in descending order) office building; preschool, school, college, or school bus; synagogue, church, or temple; industrial or construction area; hospital or medical facility; farm; railroad tracks; cemetery, graveyard, or other burial ground; bridge; and other unspecified location.
¶¶ Percentage is based on the number of homicide decedents with a known victim-suspect relationship (n = 5,725 [42.6%]; 3,863 [36.4%] males and 1,862 [65.8%] females); victim-to-suspect relationship was unknown for 7,716 decedents.
*** Includes adoptive family members (e.g., adopted child), stepfamily members (e.g., stepparent), and foster family members (e.g., foster child).
††† Other relationship includes (in descending order) the victim was a law enforcement officer injured in the line of duty, and victim was an intimate partner of suspect's parent (e.g., teenager kills mother’s boyfriend).
| Precipitating circumstance | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. (%) | No. (%) | No. (%) | |
| Mental health or substance use | |||
| Substance use problem (excludes alcohol) | 998 (12.7) | 288 (12.3) | 1,286 (12.6) |
| Current diagnosed mental health problem | 345 (4.4) | 182 (7.7) | 527 (5.2) |
| Alcohol problem | 311 (4.0) | 86 (3.7) | 397 (3.9) |
| History of ever being treated for a mental health problem | 219 (2.8) | 119 (5.1) | 338 (3.3) |
| Current mental health treatment | 115 (1.5) | 70 (3.0) | 185 (1.8) |
| Current depressed mood | 35 (<1.0) | 26 (1.1) | 61 (<1.0) |
| Other addiction (e.g., gambling or sex) | 12 (<1.0) | 4 (<1.0) | 16 (<1.0) |
| Interpersonal | |||
| Intimate partner violence related | 674 (8.6) | 1,048 (44.6) | 1,722 (16.9) |
| Family relationship problem | 409 (5.2) | 238 (10.1) | 647 (6.3) |
| Other relationship problem (nonintimate) | 482 (6.1) | 107 (4.6) | 589 (5.8) |
| Jealousy (lovers’ triangle) | 202 (2.6) | 108 (4.6) | 310 (3.0) |
| Victim of interpersonal violence during past month | 97 (1.2) | 126 (5.4) | 223 (2.2) |
| Perpetrator of interpersonal violence during past month | 142 (1.8) | 12 (<1.0) | 154 (1.5) |
| Life stressor | |||
| Argument or conflict | 2,752 (35.0) | 693 (29.5) | 3,445 (33.7) |
| Physical fight (two persons, not a brawl) | 1,387 (17.6) | 212 (9.0) | 1,599 (15.7) |
| Crisis during previous or upcoming 2 weeks | 433 (5.5) | 222 (9.4) | 655 (6.4) |
| History of child abuse or neglect | 65 (<1.0) | 41 (1.7) | 106 (1.0) |
| Crime and criminal activity | |||
| Precipitated by another crime | 2,195 (27.9) | 477 (20.3) | 2,672 (26.2) |
| Crime in progress¶ | 1,326 (60.4) | 276 (57.9) | 1,602 (60.0) |
| Drug involvement | 1,122 (14.3) | 129 (5.5) | 1,251 (12.3) |
| Gang-related | 990 (12.6) | 95 (4.0) | 1,085 (10.6) |
| Homicide circumstance | |||
| Drive-by shooting | 791 (10.1) | 98 (4.2) | 889 (8.7) |
| Walk-by assault | 600 (7.6) | 66 (2.8) | 666 (6.5) |
| Victim used a weapon | 612 (7.8) | 29 (1.2) | 641 (6.3) |
| Caretaker abuse or neglect led to death | 261 (3.3) | 198 (8.4) | 459 (4.5) |
| Mentally ill suspect** | 163 (2.1) | 156 (6.6) | 319 (3.1) |
| Justifiable self defense | 283 (3.6) | 7 (<1.0) | 290 (2.8) |
| Random violence | 169 (2.1) | 63 (2.7) | 232 (2.3) |
| Victim was a bystander | 134 (1.7) | 88 (3.7) | 222 (2.2) |
| Brawl | 191 (2.4) | 10 (<1.0) | 201 (2.0) |
| Victim was an intervener assisting a crime victim | 100 (1.3) | 21 (<1.0) | 121 (1.2) |
| Prostitution | 29 (<1.0) | 28 (1.2) | 57 (<1.0) |
| Stalking | 20 (<1.0) | 34 (1.4) | 54 (<1.0) |
| Victim was a police officer on duty | 39 (<1.0) | 4 (<1.0) | 43 (<1.0) |
| Mercy killing | 5 (<1.0) | 16 (<1.0) | 21 (<1.0) |
| Hate crime | 14 (<1.0) | 7 (<1.0) | 21 (<1.0) |
| Total†† | 7,861 (74.1) | 2,350 (83.0) | 10,211 (76.0) |
Table 5. Number* and percentage† of homicides, by decedent’s sex and precipitating circumstance — National Violent Death Reporting System, 39 states and the district of Columbia, 2018§
* Includes homicides with one or more precipitating circumstances. Total numbers do not equal the sums of the columns because more than one circumstance could have been present per decedent.
† Denominator includes those homicides with one or more precipitating circumstances. The sums of percentages in columns exceed 100% because more than one circumstance could have been present per decedent.
§ Data for all violent deaths were collected in 36 states (Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin), and the District of Columbia. Three states (California, Illinois, and Pennsylvania) collected data from a subset of counties in their state. Data for violent deaths that occurred in Illinois include 28 counties that represent 86% of the state’s population (Adams, Boone, Champaign, Cook, DuPage, Effingham, Fulton, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Lake, Lasalle, Livingston, Logan, McDonough, McHenry, McLean, Macoupin, Madison, Peoria, Perry, Rock Island, St. Clair, Sangamon, Tazewell, Vermillion, Will, and Winnebago). Data for violent deaths that occurred in Pennsylvania include 39 counties that represent 82.2% of the state’s population (Adams, Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Berks, Blair, Bradford, Bucks, Cambria, Carbon, Centre, Chester, Clarion, Clearfield, Clinton, Columbia, Crawford, Dauphin, Delaware, Fayette, Forest, Greene, Indiana, Jefferson, Lackawanna, Lancaster, Lehigh, Luzerne, Monroe, Montgomery, Montour, Northampton, Philadelphia, Schuylkill, Union, Wayne, Westmoreland, Wyoming, and York). Data for violent deaths that occurred in California include 21 counties that represent 54% of the state’s population (Amador, Butte, Fresno, Humboldt, Imperial, Kern, Kings, Lake, Los Angeles, Marin, Mono, Placer, Sacramento, San Benito, San Diego, San Francisco, San Mateo, Shasta, Siskiyou, Ventura, and Yolo). Denominators for the rates for these three states (California, Illinois, and Pennsylvania) represent only the populations of the counties from which the data were collected.
¶ Denominator includes those decedents involved in an incident that was precipitated by another crime.
** Mentally ill suspect is endorsed for deaths in which the suspect’s attack on decedent was believed to be the direct result of a mental health problem (e.g., schizophrenia or other psychotic condition, depression, or posttraumatic stress disorder).
†† Circumstances were unknown for 3,230 decedents (2,749 males and 481 females); total number of homicide decedents = 13,441 (10,610 males and 2,831 females).
| Characteristic | Suspect age group (yrs) | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| <18 | 18–24 | 25–44 | 45–64 | ≥65 | ||
| No. (%)§ | No. (%)§ | No. (%)§ | No. (%)§ | No. (%)§ | No. (%)§ | |
| Sex | ||||||
| Male | 426 (91.0) | 1,880 (88.8) | 3,020 (86.5) | 881 (85.0) | 197 (90.4) | 6,404 (87.4) |
| Female | 37 (7.9) | 226 (10.7) | 461 (13.2) | 154 (14.9) | 21 (9.6) | 899 (12.3) |
| Unknown | 5 (1.1) | 12 (<1.0) | 9 (<1.0) | 2 (<1.0) | 0 (0) | 28 (<1.0) |
| Race/Ethnicity | ||||||
| Black, non-Hispanic | 290 (62.0) | 1,303 (61.5) | 1,798 (51.5) | 373 (36.0) | 35 (16.1) | 3,799 (51.8) |
| White, non-Hispanic | 87 (18.6) | 407 (19.2) | 1,021 (29.3) | 518 (50.0) | 149 (68.3) | 2,182 (29.8) |
| Hispanic¶ | 37 (7.9) | 189 (8.9) | 322 (9.2) | 63 (6.1) | 9 (4.1) | 620 (8.5) |
| Asian or Pacific Islander, non-Hispanic | 0 (0.) | 15 (<1.0) | 35 (1.0) | 18 (1.7) | 5 (2.3) | 73 (<1.0) |
| American Indian or Alaska Native, non-Hispanic | 4 (<1.0) | 12 (<1.0) | 48 (1.4) | 6 (<1.0) | 2 (<1.0) | 72 (<1.0) |
| Unknown | 50 (10.7) | 192 (9.1) | 266 (7.6) | 59 (5.7) | 18 (8.3) | 585 (8.0) |
| Relationship of victim to suspect** | ||||||
| Acquaintance or friend | 98 (31.2) | 447 (34.0) | 666 (27.0) | 192 (22.2) | 21 (10.4) | 1,424 (27.6) |
| Spouse or intimate partner (current or former) | 8 (2.5) | 124 (9.4) | 521 (21.2) | 333 (38.5) | 114 (56.4) | 1,100 (21.3) |
| Other person, known to victim | 46 (14.6) | 230 (17.5) | 401 (16.3) | 109 (12.6) | 15 (7.4) | 801 (15.5) |
| Stranger | 77 (24.5) | 232 (17.6) | 333 (13.5) | 65 (7.5) | 10 (5.0) | 717 (13.9) |
| Other relative†† | 35 (11.1) | 76 (5.8) | 161 (6.5) | 66 (7.6) | 17 (8.4) | 355 (6.9) |
| Child§§ | 10 (3.2) | 82 (6.2) | 167 (6.8) | 45 (5.2) | 11 (5.4) | 315 (6.1) |
| Parent§§ | 24 (7.6) | 48 (3.6) | 107 (4.3) | 48 (5.6) | 8 (4.0) | 235 (4.6) |
| Child of suspect's boyfriend or girlfriend (e.g., child killed by mother's boyfriend) | 1 (<1.0) | 24 (1.8) | 56 (2.3) | 4 (<1.0) | 2 (<1.0) | 87 (1.7) |
| Rival gang member | 8 (2.5) | 31 (2.4) | 26 (1.1) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 65 (1.3) |
| Intimate partner of suspect's parent (e.g., teenager kills mother’s boyfriend) | 7 (2.2) | 13 (<1.0) | 9 (<1.0) | 1 (<1.0) | 1 (<1.0) | 31 (<1.0) |
| Victim was a law enforcement officer on duty | 0 (0) | 9 (<1.0) | 16 (<1.0) | 1 (<1.0) | 3 (1.5) | 29 (<1.0) |
| Mental health or substance use¶¶ | ||||||
| Suspected other substance use by suspect | 27 (7.8) | 119 (7.5) | 297 (10.1) | 76 (7.8) | 4 (1.9) | 523 (8.6) |
| Suspected alcohol use by suspect | 14 (4.1) | 77 (4.9) | 239 (8.1) | 112 (11.5) | 11 (5.2) | 453 (7.5) |
| Mentally ill suspect*** | 9 (2.6) | 47 (3.0) | 144 (4.9) | 69 (7.1) | 21 (9.9) | 290 (4.8) |
| Suspect had a developmental disability | 1 (<1.0) | 3 (<1.0) | 5 (<1.0) | 4 (<1.0) | 1 (<1.0) | 14 (<1.0) |
| Other circumstance of suspect††† | ||||||
| Prior contact with law enforcement | 38 (11.0) | 174 (11.0) | 386 (13.1) | 99 (10.1) | 10 (4.7) | 707 (11.6) |
| Suspect attempted suicide after incident§§§ | 6 (1.7) | 30 (1.9) | 192 (6.5) | 171 (17.5) | 82 (38.5) | 481 (7.9) |
| Suspect recently released from an institution | 3 (<1.0) | 38 (2.4) | 69 (2.3) | 21 (2.1) | 4 (1.9) | 135 (2.2) |
| Homicide circumstance | ||||||
| Precipitated by another crime | 114 (38.9) | 463 (32.8) | 733 (27.5) | 202 (22.0) | 30 (14.9) | 1,542 (28.1) |
| Intimate partner violence related | 25 (8.5) | 171 (12.1) | 680 (25.5) | 388 (42.3) | 117 (58.2) | 1,381 (25.1) |
| Drug involvement | 58 (19.8) | 228 (16.1) | 340 (12.7) | 53 (5.8) | 4 (2.0) | 683 (12.4) |
| Victim used a weapon | 27 (9.2) | 122 (8.6) | 202 (7.6) | 57 (6.2) | 10 (5.0) | 418 (7.6) |
| Gang related | 29 (9.9) | 157 (11.1) | 193 (7.2) | 9 (<1.0) | 0 (0) | 388 (7.1) |
| Drive by shooting | 20 (6.8) | 114 (8.1) | 126 (4.7) | 9 (<1.0) | 0 (0) | 269 (4.9) |
| Jealousy (lovers’ triangle) | 5 (1.7) | 47 (3.3) | 139 (5.2) | 54 (5.9) | 4 (2.0) | 249 (4.5) |
| Brawl (mutual physical fight) | 10 (3.4) | 40 (2.8) | 58 (2.2) | 6 (<1.0) | 0 (0) | 114 (2.1) |
| Random violence | 8 (2.7) | 33 (2.3) | 54 (2.0) | 11 (1.2) | 2 (<1.0) | 108 (2.0) |
| Victim was a bystander | 10 (3.4) | 38 (2.7) | 40 (1.5) | 6 (<1.0) | 0 (0) | 94 (1.7) |
| Stalking | 0 (0) | 6 (<1.0) | 21 (<1.0) | 12 (1.3) | 3 (1.5) | 42 (<1.0) |
| Prostitution | 1 (<1.0) | 9 (<1.0) | 24 (<1.0) | 4 (<1.0) | 0 (0) | 38 (<1.0) |
| Hate crime | 0 (0) | 3 (<1.0) | 2 (<1.0) | 2 (<1.0) | 0 (0) | 7 (<1.0) |
| Total | 468 | 2,118 | 3,490 | 1,037 | 218 | 7,331 |
Table 6. Number and percentage* of homicides, by selected demographic characteristics of suspect, victim-suspect relationship, suspect’s mental health or substance use, and homicide circumstance — National Violent Death Reporting System, 39 states and the District of Columbia, 2018†
* Percentages might not total 100% due to rounding. There were 12,693 homicide incidents overall and 9,331 suspects from 8,051 incidents with suspect information. Of the total number of homicide incidents, 6,071 (47.8%) had known suspect age, resulting in 7,331 suspects (age was unknown for n = 2,600 (26.2%) of suspects). Some incidents had >1 suspect. Denominators for suspect characteristics and circumstances vary by the availability of known information and are specified in separate footnotes.
† Data for all violent deaths were collected in 36 states (Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin), and the District of Columbia. Three states (California, Illinois, and Pennsylvania) collected data from a subset of counties in their state. Data for violent deaths that occurred in Illinois include 28 counties that represent 86% of the state’s population (Adams, Boone, Champaign, Cook, DuPage, Effingham, Fulton, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Lake, Lasalle, Livingston, Logan, McDonough, McHenry, McLean, Macoupin, Madison, Peoria, Perry, Rock Island, St. Clair, Sangamon, Tazewell, Vermillion, Will, and Winnebago). Data for violent deaths that occurred in Pennsylvania include 39 counties that represent 82.2% of the state’s population (Adams, Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Berks, Blair, Bradford, Bucks, Cambria, Carbon, Centre, Chester, Clarion, Clearfield, Clinton, Columbia, Crawford, Dauphin, Delaware, Fayette, Forest, Greene, Indiana, Jefferson, Lackawanna, Lancaster, Lehigh, Luzerne, Monroe, Montgomery, Montour, Northampton, Philadelphia, Schuylkill, Union, Wayne, Westmoreland, Wyoming, and York). Data for violent deaths that occurred in California include 21 counties that represent 54% of the state’s population (Amador, Butte, Fresno, Humboldt, Imperial, Kern, Kings, Lake, Los Angeles, Marin, Mono, Placer, Sacramento, San Benito, San Diego, San Francisco, San Mateo, Shasta, Siskiyou, Ventura, and Yolo). Denominators for the rates for these three states (California, Illinois, and Pennsylvania) represent only the populations of the counties from which the data were collected.
§Percentage is based on the total number of suspects within each age group (i.e., column totals at the bottom of the table).
¶ Includes persons of any race.
** Percentage is based on the number of homicide suspects with a known age and victim-suspect relationship (n = 5,159; aged <18 years = 314; aged 18–24 years = 1,316; aged 25–44 years = 2,463; aged 45–64 years = 864; aged ≥65 years = 202); victim-suspect relationship was unknown for 2,172 suspects. The victim-suspect relationship should be interpreted using the following statement: “The victim is the [insert relationship] of the suspect,” with the exception of the caregiver relationship.
†† Other relative includes other family member (e.g., cousin or uncle), sibling, grandparent, in-law, or grandchild.
§§ Includes adoptive family members (e.g., adopted child), stepfamily members (e.g., stepparent), and foster family members (e.g., foster child).
¶¶ Percentage is based on the number of homicide incidents (n = 6,071; aged <18 years = 344; aged 18–24 years = 1,586; aged 25–44 years = 2,951; aged 45–64 years = 977; and aged ≥65 years = 213) with the count representing the total number of suspects having that characteristic.
*** Mentally ill suspect is endorsed for deaths in which the suspect’s attack on decedent was believed to be the direct result of a mental health problem (e.g., schizophrenia or other psychotic condition, depression, or posttraumatic stress disorder).
††† Percentage is based on the number of homicide incidents with known suspect age and decedent circumstances (n = 5,494; primary suspect: aged <18 years = 293; aged 18–24 years = 1,412; aged 25–44 years = 2,670; aged 45–64 years = 918; and aged ≥65 years = 201). The characteristic applies to one or more decedents in the incident.
§§§ Number and percentage of suspect suicide attempts that were fatal, based on the number who attempted suicide: n = 389 (80.9%); aged <18 years = 5 (83.3%); aged 18–24 years = 18 (60.0%); aged 25–44 years = 151 (78.6%); aged 45–64 years = 138 (80.7%); and aged ≥65 years = 77 (93.9%).
| Characteristic | Male | Female | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. (%) | Rate | No. (%) | Rate | No. (%) | Rate | |
| Age group (yrs) | ||||||
| <10 | 0 (0) | —** | 0 (0) | — | 0 (0) | — |
| 10–14 | 1 (<1.0) | — | 0 (0) | — | 1 (<1.0) | — |
| 15–19 | 39 (5.4) | 0.5 | 1 (2.7) | — | 40 (5.2) | 0.3 |
| 20–24 | 84 (11.6) | 1.0 | 2 (5.4) | — | 86 (11.3) | 0.5 |
| 25–29 | 113 (15.5) | 1.3 | 5 (13.5) | — | 118 (15.4) | 0.7 |
| 30–34 | 118 (16.2) | 1.5 | 7 (18.9) | — | 125 (16.4) | 0.8 |
| 35–44 | 190 (26.1) | 1.3 | 10 (27.0) | — | 200 (26.2) | 0.7 |
| 45–54 | 96 (13.2) | 0.7 | 7 (18.9) | — | 103 (13.5) | 0.3 |
| 55–64 | 58 (8.0) | 0.4 | 3 (8.1) | — | 61 (8.0) | 0.2 |
| 65–74 | 22 (3.0) | 0.2 | 2 (5.4) | — | 24 (3.1) | 0.1 |
| 75–84 | 6 (<1.0) | — | 0 (0) | — | 6 (<1.0) | — |
| ≥85 | 0 (0) | — | 0 (0) | — | 0 (0) | — |
| Race/Ethnicity | ||||||
| White, non-Hispanic | 354 (48.7) | 0.5 | 21 (56.8) | <0.1 | 375 (49.1) | 0.3 |
| Black, non-Hispanic | 190 (26.1) | 1.3 | 9 (24.3) | — | 199 (26.0) | 0.6 |
| American Indian or Alaska Native, non-Hispanic | 28 (3.9) | 2.6 | 1 (2.7) | — | 29 (3.8) | 1.3 |
| Asian or Pacific Islander, non-Hispanic | 13 (1.8) | — | 0 (0) | — | 13 (1.7) | — |
| Hispanic†† | 138 (19.0) | 0.8 | 6 (16.2) | — | 144 (18.8) | 0.4 |
| Other race or ethnicity | 4 (<1.0) | — | 0 (0) | — | 4 (<1.0) | — |
| Method | ||||||
| Firearm | 659 (90.6) | 0.6 | 29 (78.4) | <0.1 | 688 (90.1) | 0.3 |
| Motor vehicles (e.g., buses, motorcycles, other transport vehicles) | 22 (3.0) | <0.1 | 6 (16.2) | — | 28 (3.7) | <0.1 |
| Personal weapons (e.g., hands, feet, or fists) | 8 (1.1) | — | 0 (0) | — | 8 (1.0) | — |
| Poisoning | 6 (<1.0) | — | 0 (0) | — | 6 (<1.0) | — |
| Hanging, strangulation, or suffocation | 6 (<1.0) | — | 0 (0) | — | 6 (<1.0) | — |
| Blunt instrument | 3 (<1.0) | — | 0 (0) | — | 3 (<1.0) | — |
| Drowning | 2 (<1.0) | — | 0 (0) | — | 2 (<1.0) | — |
| Other (e.g., Taser, electrocution, or nail gun) | 12 (1.7) | — | 0 (0) | — | 12 (1.6) | — |
| Unknown | 9 (1.2) | — | 2 (5.4) | — | 11 (1.4) | — |
| Location of injury | ||||||
| House or apartment | 259 (35.6) | 0.2 | 13 (35.1) | — | 272 (35.6) | 0.1 |
| Street or highway | 188 (25.9) | 0.2 | 8 (21.6) | — | 196 (25.7) | <0.1 |
| Motor vehicle | 73 (10.0) | <0.1 | 8 (21.6) | — | 81 (10.6) | <0.1 |
| Parking lot, public garage, or public transport | 47 (6.5) | <0.1 | 3 (8.1) | — | 50 (6.5) | <0.1 |
| Commercial or retail area | 36 (5.0) | <0.1 | 1 (2.7) | — | 37 (4.8) | <0.1 |
| Natural area | 22 (3.0) | <0.1 | 0 (0) | — | 22 (2.9) | <0.1 |
| Hotel or motel | 16 (2.2) | — | 0 (0) | — | 16 (2.1) | — |
| Park, playground, or sports or athletic area | 10 (1.4) | — | 0 (0) | — | 10 (1.3) | — |
| Jail or prison | 10 (1.4) | — | 0 (0) | — | 10 (1.3) | — |
| Other location§§ | 44 (6.1) | — | 1 (2.7) | — | 45 (5.9) | — |
| Unknown | 22 (3.0) | — | 3 (8.1) | — | 25 (3.3) | — |
| Total | 727 (100.0) | 0.6 | 37 (100.0) | <0.1 | 764 (100.0) | 0.3 |
Table 7. Number, percentage,* and rate† of legal intervention§ deaths, by selected demographic characteristics of decedent, method used, and location in which injury occurred — National Violent Death Reporting System, 39 states and the District of Columbia, 2018¶
* Percentages might not total 100% due to rounding.
† Per 100,000 population.
§ The term legal intervention does not denote the lawfulness or legality of the circumstances surrounding the death.
¶ Data for all violent deaths were collected in 36 states (Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin), and the District of Columbia. Three states (California, Illinois, and Pennsylvania) collected data from a subset of counties in their state. Data for violent deaths that occurred in Illinois include 28 counties that represent 86% of the state’s population (Adams, Boone, Champaign, Cook, DuPage, Effingham, Fulton, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Lake, Lasalle, Livingston, Logan, McDonough, McHenry, McLean, Macoupin, Madison, Peoria, Perry, Rock Island, St. Clair, Sangamon, Tazewell, Vermillion, Will, and Winnebago). Data for violent deaths that occurred in Pennsylvania include 39 counties that represent 82.2% of the state’s population (Adams, Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Berks, Blair, Bradford, Bucks, Cambria, Carbon, Centre, Chester, Clarion, Clearfield, Clinton, Columbia, Crawford, Dauphin, Delaware, Fayette, Forest, Greene, Indiana, Jefferson, Lackawanna, Lancaster, Lehigh, Luzerne, Monroe, Montgomery, Montour, Northampton, Philadelphia, Schuylkill, Union, Wayne, Westmoreland, Wyoming, and York). Data for violent deaths that occurred in California include 21 counties that represent 54% of the state’s population (Amador, Butte, Fresno, Humboldt, Imperial, Kern, Kings, Lake, Los Angeles, Marin, Mono, Placer, Sacramento, San Benito, San Diego, San Francisco, San Mateo, Shasta, Siskiyou, Ventura, and Yolo). Denominators for the rates for these three states (California, Illinois, and Pennsylvania) represent only the populations of the counties from which the data were collected.
** Rates are not reported when number of decedents is <20 or when characteristic response is “other” or “unknown.”
†† Includes persons of any race.
§§ Other location includes (in descending order) office building; bar or nightclub; hospital or medical facility; farm; preschool, school, college, or school bus; abandoned house, building, or warehouse; synagogue, church, or temple; industrial or construction area; supervised residential facility; bridge; and other unspecified location.
| Precipitating circumstance | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. (%) | No. (%) | No. (%) | |
| Mental health or substance use | |||
| Substance use problem (excludes alcohol) | 194 (27.6) | 9 (28.1) | 203 (27.7) |
| Current diagnosed mental health problem | 133 (18.9) | 8 (25.0) | 141 (19.2) |
| History of ever being treated for a mental health problem | 81 (11.5) | 5 (15.6) | 86 (11.7) |
| Alcohol problem | 74 (10.5) | 2 (6.3) | 76 (10.4) |
| Current mental health treatment | 42 (6.0) | 3 (9.4) | 45 (6.1) |
| Current depressed mood | 36 (5.1) | 0 (0) | 36 (4.9) |
| Other addiction (e.g., gambling or sex) | 3 (<1.0) | 0 (0) | 3 (<1.0) |
| Interpersonal | |||
| Intimate partner violence-related | 75 (10.7) | 1 (3.1) | 76 (10.4) |
| Perpetrator of interpersonal violence during past month | 63 (9.0) | 0 (0) | 63 (8.6) |
| Family relationship problem | 62 (8.8) | 0 (0) | 62 (8.4) |
| Other relationship problem (nonintimate) | 23 (3.3) | 0 (0) | 23 (3.1) |
| Jealousy (lovers’ triangle) | 7 (<1.0) | 0 (0) | 7 (<1.0) |
| Victim of interpersonal violence during past month | 2 (<1.0) | 0 (0) | 2 (<1.0) |
| Life stressor | |||
| Argument or conflict | 112 (16.0) | 4 (12.5) | 116 (15.8) |
| Crisis during previous or upcoming 2 weeks | 87 (12.4) | 1 (3.1) | 88 (12.0) |
| Physical fight (two persons, not a brawl) | 64 (9.1) | 1 (3.1) | 65 (8.9) |
| History of child abuse or neglect | 4 (<1.0) | 0 (0) | 4 (<1.0) |
| Crime and criminal activity | |||
| Precipitated by another crime | 606 (86.3) | 27 (84.4) | 633 (86.2) |
| Crime in progress** | 438 (72.3) | 19 (70.4) | 457 (72.2) |
| Drug involvement | 37 (5.3) | 3 (9.4) | 40 (5.4) |
| Gang related | 12 (1.7) | 0 (0) | 12 (1.6) |
| Legal intervention | |||
| Victim used a weapon | 518 (73.8) | 21 (65.6) | 539 (73.4) |
| Brawl | 12 (1.7) | 0 (0) | 12 (1.6) |
| Victim was a bystander | 1 (<1.0) | 3 (9.4) | 4 (<1.0) |
| Random violence | 3 (<1.0) | 0 (0) | 3 (<1.0) |
| Stalking | 3 (<1.0) | 0 (0) | 3 (<1.0) |
| Victim was an intervener assisting a crime victim | 2 (<1.0) | 0 (0) | 2 (<1.0) |
| Caretaker abuse or neglect led to death | 1 (<1.0) | 0 (0) | 1 (<1.0) |
| Prostitution | 0 (0) | 1 (3.1) | 1 (<1.0) |
| Total†† | 702 (96.6) | 32 (86.5) | 734 (96.1) |
Table 8. Number* and percentage† of legal intervention§ deaths, by decedent’s sex and precipitating circumstance — National Violent Death Reporting System, 39 states and the District of Columbia, 2018¶
* Includes deaths with one or more precipitating circumstances. Total numbers do not equal the sums of the columns because more than one circumstance could have been present per decedent.
† Denominator includes those deaths with one or more precipitating circumstances. The sums of percentages in columns exceed 100% because more than one circumstance could have been present per decedent.
§ The term legal intervention does not denote the lawfulness or legality of the circumstances surrounding the death.
¶ Data for all violent deaths were collected in 36 states (Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin), and the District of Columbia. Three states (California, Illinois, and Pennsylvania) collected data from a subset of counties in their state. Data for violent deaths that occurred in Illinois include 28 counties that represent 86% of the state’s population (Adams, Boone, Champaign, Cook, DuPage, Effingham, Fulton, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Lake, Lasalle, Livingston, Logan, McDonough, McHenry, McLean, Macoupin, Madison, Peoria, Perry, Rock Island, St. Clair, Sangamon, Tazewell, Vermillion, Will, and Winnebago). Data for violent deaths that occurred in Pennsylvania include 39 counties that represent 82.2% of the state’s population (Adams, Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Berks, Blair, Bradford, Bucks, Cambria, Carbon, Centre, Chester, Clarion, Clearfield, Clinton, Columbia, Crawford, Dauphin, Delaware, Fayette, Forest, Greene, Indiana, Jefferson, Lackawanna, Lancaster, Lehigh, Luzerne, Monroe, Montgomery, Montour, Northampton, Philadelphia, Schuylkill, Union, Wayne, Westmoreland, Wyoming, and York). Data for violent deaths that occurred in California include 21 counties that represent 54% of the state’s population (Amador, Butte, Fresno, Humboldt, Imperial, Kern, Kings, Lake, Los Angeles, Marin, Mono, Placer, Sacramento, San Benito, San Diego, San Francisco, San Mateo, Shasta, Siskiyou, Ventura, and Yolo). Denominators for the rates for these three states (California, Illinois, and Pennsylvania) represent only the populations of the counties from which the data were collected.
** Denominator includes those decedents involved in an incident that was precipitated by another crime.
†† Circumstances were unknown for 30 decedents (25 males and five females); total number of legal intervention deaths = 764 (727 males and 37 females).
| Characteristic | No. (%) |
|---|---|
| Age group (yrs) | |
| 18–24 | 6 (1.1) |
| 25–44 | 145 (26.5) |
| 45–64 | 34 (6.2) |
| ≥65 | 0 (0) |
| Unknown | 362 (66.2) |
| Race/Ethnicity | |
| White, non-Hispanic | 207 (37.8) |
| Black, non-Hispanic | 16 (2.9) |
| American Indian or Alaska Native, non-Hispanic | 0 (0) |
| Asian or Pacific Islander, non-Hispanic | 0 (0) |
| Hispanic§ | 17 (3.1) |
| Unknown | 307 (56.1) |
| Total | 547 (100.0) |
Table 9. Number and percentage* of law enforcement officers involved in legal intervention deaths, by age group and race and ethnicity — National Violent Death Reporting System, 39 states and the District of Columbia, 2018†
* Percentages might not total 100% due to rounding. There were 757 legal intervention incidents. Percentage is based on the number of law enforcement officers (n = 547; male, n= 527; female, n = 13; sex unknown, n = 7) from legal intervention incidents with any information about the officer involved (n = 383; 50.6%). Of officers with known sex, 96.3% were male. Some incidents had more than one suspect.
† Data for all violent deaths were collected in 36 states (Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin), and the District of Columbia. Three states (California, Illinois, and Pennsylvania) collected data from a subset of counties in their state. Data for violent deaths that occurred in Illinois include 28 counties that represent 86% of the state’s population (Adams, Boone, Champaign, Cook, DuPage, Effingham, Fulton, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Lake, Lasalle, Livingston, Logan, McDonough, McHenry, McLean, Macoupin, Madison, Peoria, Perry, Rock Island, St. Clair, Sangamon, Tazewell, Vermillion, Will, and Winnebago). Data for violent deaths that occurred in Pennsylvania include 39 counties that represent 82.2% of the state’s population (Adams, Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Berks, Blair, Bradford, Bucks, Cambria, Carbon, Centre, Chester, Clarion, Clearfield, Clinton, Columbia, Crawford, Dauphin, Delaware, Fayette, Forest, Greene, Indiana, Jefferson, Lackawanna, Lancaster, Lehigh, Luzerne, Monroe, Montgomery, Montour, Northampton, Philadelphia, Schuylkill, Union, Wayne, Westmoreland, Wyoming, and York). Data for violent deaths that occurred in California include 21 counties that represent 54% of the state’s population (Amador, Butte, Fresno, Humboldt, Imperial, Kern, Kings, Lake, Los Angeles, Marin, Mono, Placer, Sacramento, San Benito, San Diego, San Francisco, San Mateo, Shasta, Siskiyou, Ventura, and Yolo). Denominators for the rates for these three states (California, Illinois, and Pennsylvania) represent only the populations of the counties from which the data were collected.
§ Includes persons of any race.
| Characteristic | No. (%) |
|---|---|
| Sex | |
| Male | 297 (88.1) |
| Female | 40 (11.9) |
| Race/Ethnicity | |
| White, non-Hispanic | 192 (57.0) |
| Black, non-Hispanic | 109 (32.3) |
| American Indian or Alaska Native, non-Hispanic | 7 (2.1) |
| Asian or Pacific Islander, non-Hispanic | 3 (<1.0) |
| Hispanic§ | 26 (7.7) |
| Age group (yrs) | |
| <1 | 0 (0) |
| 1–4 | 24 (7.1) |
| 5–9 | 16 (4.7) |
| 10–14 | 27 (8.0) |
| 15–19 | 68 (20.2) |
| 20–24 | 49 (14.5) |
| 25–29 | 24 (7.1) |
| 30–34 | 22 (6.5) |
| 35–44 | 22 (6.5) |
| 45–54 | 21 (6.2) |
| 55–64 | 29 (8.6) |
| 65–74 | 21 (6.2) |
| 75–84 | 12 (3.6) |
| ≥85 | 2 (<1.0) |
| Location | |
| House or apartment | 256 (76.0) |
| Natural area | 23 (6.8) |
| Motor vehicle | 17 (5.0) |
| Street or highway | 7 (2.1) |
| Hotel or motel | 6 (1.8) |
| Commercial or retail area | 3 (<1.0) |
| Parking lot, public garage, or public transport | 3 (<1.0) |
| Other location¶ | 11 (3.3) |
| Unknown | 11 (3.3) |
| Firearm type | |
| Handgun | 208 (61.7) |
| Rifle | 44 (13.1) |
| Shotgun | 30 (8.9) |
| Other firearm | 1 (<1.0) |
| Unknown | 54 (16.0) |
| Total | 337 (100.0) |
Table 10. Number and percentage* of unintentional firearm deaths, by selected demographic characteristic of decedent, location of injury, and type of firearm — National Violent Death Reporting System, 39 states and the District of Columbia, 2018†
* Percentages might not total 100% due to rounding.
† Data for all violent deaths were collected in 36 states (Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin), and the District of Columbia. Three states (California, Illinois, and Pennsylvania) collected data from a subset of counties in their state. Data for violent deaths that occurred in Illinois include 28 counties that represent 86% of the state’s population (Adams, Boone, Champaign, Cook, DuPage, Effingham, Fulton, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Lake, Lasalle, Livingston, Logan, McDonough, McHenry, McLean, Macoupin, Madison, Peoria, Perry, Rock Island, St. Clair, Sangamon, Tazewell, Vermillion, Will, and Winnebago). Data for violent deaths that occurred in Pennsylvania include 39 counties that represent 82.2% of the state’s population (Adams, Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Berks, Blair, Bradford, Bucks, Cambria, Carbon, Centre, Chester, Clarion, Clearfield, Clinton, Columbia, Crawford, Dauphin, Delaware, Fayette, Forest, Greene, Indiana, Jefferson, Lackawanna, Lancaster, Lehigh, Luzerne, Monroe, Montgomery, Montour, Northampton, Philadelphia, Schuylkill, Union, Wayne, Westmoreland, Wyoming, and York). Data for violent deaths that occurred in California include 21 counties that represent 54% of the state’s population (Amador, Butte, Fresno, Humboldt, Imperial, Kern, Kings, Lake, Los Angeles, Marin, Mono, Placer, Sacramento, San Benito, San Diego, San Francisco, San Mateo, Shasta, Siskiyou, Ventura, and Yolo). Denominators for the rates for these three states (California, Illinois, and Pennsylvania) represent only the populations of the counties from which the data were collected.
§ Includes persons of any race.
¶ Other location includes (in descending order) bar or nightclub; office building; park, playground, or sports or athletic area; farm; and other unspecified location.
| Characteristic | No. (%) |
|---|---|
| Context of injury | |
| Playing with gun | 124 (41.6) |
| Showing gun to others | 46 (15.4) |
| Cleaning gun | 26 (8.7) |
| Hunting | 21 (7.0) |
| Loading or unloading gun | 13 (4.4) |
| Target shooting | 8 (2.7) |
| Celebratory firing | 1 (<1.0) |
| Other context of injury | 72 (24.2) |
| Circumstance of injury | |
| Unintentionally pulled trigger | 66 (22.1) |
| Thought gun was unloaded | 35 (11.7) |
| Thought unloaded, magazine disengaged | 20 (6.7) |
| Gun was dropped | 18 (6.0) |
| Gun was mistaken for a toy | 9 (3.0) |
| Thought gun safety was engaged | 8 (2.7) |
| Gun fired due to defect or malfunction | 6 (2.0) |
| Bullet ricocheted | 3 (1.0) |
| Gun fired while handling safety lock | 2 (<1.0) |
| Other mechanism of injury | 52 (17.4) |
| Total§ | 298 (88.4) |
Table 11. Number and percentage* of unintentional firearm deaths, by context and circumstance of injury — National Violent Death Reporting System, 39 states and the District of Columbia, 2018†
* Percentages might exceed 100% because one or more circumstances could have been known per death. Number and percentage are reported when the number of deaths is fewer than five because no particular circumstance identifies a single death. Denominator includes those deaths with one or more precipitating circumstances.
† Data for all violent deaths were collected in 36 states (Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin), and the District of Columbia. Three states (California, Illinois, and Pennsylvania) collected data from a subset of counties in their state. Data for violent deaths that occurred in Illinois include 28 counties that represent 86% of the state’s population (Adams, Boone, Champaign, Cook, DuPage, Effingham, Fulton, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Lake, Lasalle, Livingston, Logan, McDonough, McHenry, McLean, Macoupin, Madison, Peoria, Perry, Rock Island, St. Clair, Sangamon, Tazewell, Vermillion, Will, and Winnebago). Data for violent deaths that occurred in Pennsylvania include 39 counties that represent 82.2% of the state’s population (Adams, Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Berks, Blair, Bradford, Bucks, Cambria, Carbon, Centre, Chester, Clarion, Clearfield, Clinton, Columbia, Crawford, Dauphin, Delaware, Fayette, Forest, Greene, Indiana, Jefferson, Lackawanna, Lancaster, Lehigh, Luzerne, Monroe, Montgomery, Montour, Northampton, Philadelphia, Schuylkill, Union, Wayne, Westmoreland, Wyoming, and York). Data for violent deaths that occurred in California include 21 counties that represent 54% of the state’s population (Amador, Butte, Fresno, Humboldt, Imperial, Kern, Kings, Lake, Los Angeles, Marin, Mono, Placer, Sacramento, San Benito, San Diego, San Francisco, San Mateo, Shasta, Siskiyou, Ventura, and Yolo). Denominators for the rates for these three states (California, Illinois, and Pennsylvania) represent only the populations of the counties from which the data were collected.
§ Circumstances were unknown for 39 decedents; total number of unintentional firearm decedents = 337.
| Manner of death | Death ≤1 year after injury | Death >1 year after injury | Death any time after injury |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intentional self-harm (suicide) | X60–X84 | Y87.0 | U03 (attributable to terrorism) |
| Assault (homicide) | X85–X99, Y00–Y09 | Y87.1 | U01, U02 (attributable to terrorism) |
| Event of undetermined intent | Y10–Y34 | Y87.2, Y89.9 | Not applicable |
| Unintentional exposure to inanimate mechanical forces (firearms) | W32–W34 | Y86 | Not applicable |
| Legal intervention (excluding executions, Y35.5) | Y35.0–Y35.4, Y35.6, Y35.7 | Y89.0 | Not applicable |
Box 1. International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes used in the National Violent Death Reporting System
|
• Firearm: method that uses a powder charge to fire a projectile from the weapon (excludes BB gun, pellet gun, and compressed air or gas-powered gun) • Hanging, strangulation, or suffocation (e.g., hanging by the neck, manual strangulation, or plastic bag over the head) • Poisoning (e.g., fatal ingestion of a street drug, pharmaceutical, carbon monoxide, gas, rat poison, or insecticide) • Sharp instrument (e.g., knife, razor, machete, or pointed instrument) • Blunt instrument (e.g., club, bat, rock, or brick) • Fall: being pushed or jumping • Motor vehicle (e.g., car, bus, motorcycle, or other transport vehicle) • Personal weapons (e.g., hands, fists, or feet) • Drowning: inhalation of liquid (e.g., in bathtub, lake, or other source of water or liquid) • Fire or burns: inhalation of smoke or the direct effects of fire or chemical burns • Intentional neglect: starvation, lack of adequate supervision, or withholding of health care • Other (single method): any method other than those already listed (e.g., electrocution, exposure to environment or weather, or explosives) • Unknown: method not reported or not known |
Box 2. Methods used to inflict injury — National Violent Death Reporting System, 2018
| Suicide/Undetermined Intent |
|---|
|
• Intimate partner problem: decedent was experiencing problems with a current or former intimate partner. • Suicide of family member or friend: decedent was distraught over, or reacting to, the recent suicide of a family member or friend. • Other death of family member or friend: decedent was distraught over, or reacting to, the recent nonsuicide death of a family member or friend. • Physical health problem: decedent was experiencing physical health problems (e.g., a recent cancer diagnosis or chronic pain). • Job problem: decedent was either experiencing a problem at work or was having a problem with joblessness. • Recent criminal legal problem: decedent was facing criminal legal problems (e.g., recent or impending arrest or upcoming criminal court date). • Noncriminal legal problem: decedent was facing civil legal problems (e.g., a child custody or civil lawsuit). • Financial problem: decedent was experiencing financial problems (e.g., bankruptcy, overwhelming debt, or foreclosure of a home or business). • Eviction or loss of home: decedent was experiencing a recent or impending eviction or other loss of housing, or the threat of eviction or loss of housing. • School problem: decedent was experiencing a problem related to school (e.g., poor grades, bullying, social exclusion at school, or performance pressures). • Traumatic anniversary: the incident occurred on or near the anniversary of a traumatic event in the decedent’s life. • Exposure to disaster: decedent was exposed to a disaster (e.g., earthquake or bombing). • Left a suicide note: decedent left a note, e-mail message, video, or other communication indicating intent to die by suicide. • Disclosed suicidal intent: decedent had recently expressed suicidal feelings to another person with time for that person to intervene. • Disclosed intent to whom: type of person (e.g., family member or current or former intimate partner) to whom the decedent recently disclosed suicidal thoughts or plans. • History of suicidal thoughts or plans: decedent had previously expressed suicidal thoughts or plans. • History of suicide attempt: decedent had previously attempted suicide before the fatal incident. |
| Homicide/Legal Intervention |
|
• Jealousy (lovers’ triangle): jealousy or distress over an intimate partner’s relationship or suspected relationship with another person. • Stalking: pattern of unwanted harassing or threatening tactics by either the decedent or suspect. • Prostitution: prostitution or related activity that includes prostitutes, pimps, clients, or others involved in such activity. • Drug involvement: drug dealing, drug trade, or illicit drug use that is suspected to have played a role in precipitating the incident. • Brawl: mutual physical fight involving three or more persons. • Mercy killing: decedent wished to die because of a terminal or hopeless disease or condition, and documentation indicates that the decedent wanted to be killed. • Victim was a bystander: decedent was not the intended target in the incident (e.g., pedestrian walking past a gang fight). • Victim was a police officer on duty: decedent was a law enforcement officer killed in the line of duty. • Victim was an intervener assisting a crime victim: decedent was attempting to assist a crime victim at the time of the incident (e.g., a child attempts to intervene and is killed while trying to assist a parent who is being assaulted). • Victim used a weapon: decedent used a weapon to attack or defend during the course of the incident. • Intimate partner violence related: incident is related to conflict between current or former intimate partners; includes the death of an intimate partner or nonintimate partner (e.g., child, parent, friend, or law enforcement officer) killed in an incident that originated in a conflict between intimate partners. • Hate crime: decedent was selected intentionally because of his or her actual or perceived gender, religion, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, or disability. • Mentally ill suspect: suspect’s attack on decedent was believed to be the direct result of a mental health problem (e.g., schizophrenia or other psychotic condition, depression, or PTSD). • Drive-by shooting: suspect drove near the decedent and fired a weapon while driving. • Walk-by assault: decedent was killed by a targeted attack (e.g., ambush) where the suspect fled on foot. • Random violence: decedent was killed in a random act of violence (i.e., an act in which the suspect is not concerned with who is being harmed, just that someone is being harmed). • Gang related: incident resulted from gang activity or gang rivalry; not used if the decedent was a gang member and the death did not appear to result from gang activity. • Justifiable self-defense: decedent was killed by a law enforcement officer in the line of duty or by a civilian in legitimate self-defense or in defense of others. • Intimate partner violence related: incident is related to conflict between current or former intimate partners; includes the death of an intimate partner or nonintimate partner (e.g., child, parent, friend, or law enforcement officer) killed in an incident that originated in a conflict between intimate partners. |
| Suspect Information |
|
• Suspected other substance use by suspect: suspected substance use by the suspect in the hours preceding the incident. • Suspected alcohol use by suspect: suspected alcohol use by the suspect in the hours preceding the incident. • Suspect had developmental disability: suspect had developmental disability at time of incident. • Mentally ill suspect: suspect’s attack on decedent was believed to be the direct result of a mental health problem (e.g., schizophrenia or other psychotic condition, depression, or PTSD). • Prior contact with law enforcement: suspect had contact with law enforcement in the past 12 months. • Suspect attempted suicide after incident: suspect attempted suicide (fatally or nonfatally) after the death of the victim. • Suspect recently released from an institution: suspect injured victim within a month of being released from or admitted to an institutional setting (e.g., jail, hospital, psychiatric hospital). |
| All Manners of Death (Except Unintentional Firearm |
|
• Current depressed mood: decedent was perceived by self or others to be feeling depressed at the time of death. • Current diagnosed mental health problem: decedent was identified as having a mental health disorder or syndrome listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, Version V (DSM-V), with the exception of alcohol and other substance dependence (these are captured in separate variables). • Type of mental health diagnosis: identifies the type of DSM-V diagnosis reported for the decedent. • Current mental health treatment: decedent was receiving mental health treatment as evidenced by a current prescription for a psychotropic medication, visit or visits to a mental health professional, or participation in a therapy group within the previous 2 months. • History of ever being treated for mental health problem: decedent was identified as having ever received mental health treatment. • Alcohol problem: decedent was perceived by self or others to have a problem with, or to be addicted to, alcohol. • Substance use problem (excludes alcohol): decedent was perceived by self or others to have a problem with, or be addicted to, a substance other than alcohol. • Other addiction: decedent was perceived by self or others to have an addiction other than to alcohol or other substance (e.g., gambling or sex). • Family relationship problem: decedent was experiencing problems with a family member, other than an intimate partner. • Other relationship problem (nonintimate): decedent was experiencing problems with a friend or associate (other than an intimate partner or family member). • History of child abuse or neglect: as a child, decedent had history of physical, sexual, or psychological abuse; physical (including medical or dental), emotional, or educational neglect; exposure to a violent environment, or inadequate supervision by a caretaker. • Caretaker abuse or neglect led to death: decedent was experiencing physical, sexual, or psychological abuse; physical (including medical or dental), emotional, or educational neglect; exposure to a violent environment; or inadequate supervision by a caretaker that led to death. • Perpetrator of interpersonal violence during previous month: decedent perpetrated interpersonal violence during the previous month. • Victim of interpersonal violence during previous month: decedent was the target of interpersonal violence during the past month. • Physical fight (two persons, not a brawl): a physical fight between two individuals that resulted in the death of the decedent, who was either involved in the fight, a bystander, or trying to stop the fight. • Argument or conflict: a specific argument or disagreement led to the victim’s death. • Precipitated by another crime: incident occurred as the result of another serious crime. • Nature of crime: the specific type of other crime that occurred during the incident (e.g., robbery or drug trafficking). • Crime in progress: another serious crime was in progress at the time of the incident. • Terrorist attack: decedent was injured in a terrorist attack, leading to death. • Crisis during previous or upcoming 2 weeks: current crisis or acute precipitating event or events that either occurred during the previous 2 weeks or was impending in the following 2 weeks (e.g., a trial for a criminal offense begins the following week) and appeared to have contributed to the death. Crises typically are associated with specific circumstance variables (e.g., job problem was a crisis, or a financial problem was a crisis). • Other crisis: a crisis related to a death but not captured by any of the standard circumstances. |
| Unintentional Firearm Death |
| Context of Injury |
|
• Hunting: death occurred any time after leaving home for a hunting trip and before returning home from a hunting trip. • Target shooting: shooter was aiming for a target and unintentionally hit the decedent; can be at a shooting range or an informal backyard setting (e.g., teenagers shooting at signposts on a fence). • Loading or unloading gun: gun discharged when the shooter was loading or unloading ammunition. • Cleaning gun: shooter pulled trigger or gun discharged while cleaning, repairing, assembling, or disassembling gun. • Showing gun to others: gun was being shown to another person when it discharged, or the trigger was pulled. • Playing with gun: shooter was playing with a gun when it discharged. • Celebratory firing: shooter fired gun in celebratory manner (e.g., firing into the air at midnight on New Year’s Eve). • Other context of injury: shooting occurred during some context other than those already described. |
| Mechanism of Injury |
|
• Unintentionally pulled trigger: shooter unintentionally pulled the trigger (e.g., while grabbing the gun or holding it too tightly). • Thought gun safety was engaged: shooter thought the safety was on and gun would not discharge. • Thought unloaded or magazine disengaged: shooter thought the gun was unloaded because the magazine was disengaged. • Thought gun was unloaded: shooter thought the gun was unloaded for other unspecified reason. • Bullet ricocheted: bullet ricocheted from its intended target and struck the decedent. • Gun fired due to defect or malfunction: gun had a defect or malfunctioned as determined by a trained firearm examiner. • Gun fired while holstering: gun was being replaced or removed from holster or clothing. • Gun was dropped: gun discharged when it was dropped. • Gun fired while operating safety or lock: shooter unintentionally fired the gun while operating the safety or lock. • Gun was mistaken for toy: gun was mistaken for a toy and was fired without the user understanding the danger. • Other mechanism of injury: shooting occurred as the result of a mechanism not already described. |
Box 3. Circumstances preceding fatal injury, by manner of death — National Violent Death Reporting System, 2018
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The findings in this report are subject to at least seven limitations. First, NVDRS data are available from a limited number of states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico and therefore are not nationally representative. In addition, California, Illinois, and Pennsylvania data were from a subset of counties and are not representative of all violent deaths occurring in these states. However, Illinois and Pennsylvania contributed data that represent a very high percentage of the state populations (86.0% and 82.2%, respectively), and all of these states include a mix of data from large urban population centers and smaller, more rural counties.
Second, the availability, completeness, and timeliness of data depend on partnerships among VDRS programs and local health departments, vital statistics registrars’ offices, coroners and medical examiners, and law enforcement personnel. Data sharing and communication among partners are particularly challenging when states and U.S. territories have independent county coroner systems rather than a centralized coroner or medical examiner system, numerous law enforcement jurisdictions, or both. NVDRS incident data might be limited or incomplete for areas in which these data-sharing relations are not fully developed. Partnerships with local vital statistics registrars’ offices usually are more established because they are part of the public health infrastructure. As part of an active surveillance system, VDRS programs work closely with local vital registrars’ offices to identify deaths meeting the NVDRS case definition and to avoid cases being missed or inappropriately included. CDC also monitors case ascertainment and variable completeness through regular technical assistance calls, which include an internal data quality dashboard in the web-based system that is updated in real-time. Overall, core variables that represent demographic characteristics (e.g., age, sex, and race and ethnicity) and manner of death were known for >99.5% of cases.
Third, toxicology data are not collected consistently across all states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico or for all alcohol and drug categories. In addition, toxicology testing is not conducted for all decedents; thus, the percentages of decedents with positive results for specific substances might be affected by testing practices in coroner or medical examiner offices [75].
Fourth, abstractors are limited to the data included in the investigative reports they receive. For example, beyond basic demographics, suspect data are often incomplete or unavailable, which might result in an underestimate of suspect circumstances. In addition, reports might not fully reflect all information known about an incident, particularly for homicides and legal intervention deaths, when data are less readily available until a full investigation and adjudication are completed. In the current report, demographic information regarding the race and ethnicity, sex, and age of homicide suspects and officers involved in legal intervention deaths was incomplete for some incidents. How this unknown information is distributed and whether missing data are related to reporting biases is unclear.
Fifth, case definitions present challenges when a single death is classified differently in different documents (e.g., unintentional firearm death in a law enforcement report, homicide in a coroner or medical examiner report, and undetermined on the death certificate). NVDRS abstractors reconcile these discrepancies using standard NVDRS case definitions and select a single manner of death based on all source documents [6].
Sixth, variations in coding occur depending on the abstractor’s level of experience. For this reason, CDC provides extensive abstractor guidance and training, a coding manual to promote standardized data collection [6], and data validation checks. As part of their internal data quality efforts, VDRS programs are required to reabstract at least 5% of cases to examine consistency in coding and identify training needs of data abstractors.
Finally, medical and mental health information (e.g., type of condition and whether the decedent was receiving treatment) often are not captured directly from medical records but from coroner or medical examiner reports and the decedent’s family members and friends. Therefore, the completeness and accuracy of this information are limited to the knowledge of the informant.
