In recent years, gun violence in the United States has become an alarmingly common occurrence. From 2016, there has been over ****** homicides by firearm in the U.S. each year and firearms have been found to make up the majority of murder weapons in the country by far, demonstrating increasing rates of gun violence occurring throughout the nation. As of 2025, Mississippi was the state with the highest gun violence rate per 100,000 residents in the United States, at **** percent, followed by Louisiana, at **** percent. In comparison, Massachusetts had a gun violence rate of *** percent, the lowest out of all the states. The importance of gun laws Gun laws in the United States vary from state to state, which has been found to affect the differing rates of gun violence throughout the country. Fewer people die by gun violence in states where gun safety laws have been passed, while gun violence rates remain high in states where gun usage is easily permitted and even encouraged. In addition, some states suffer from high rates of gun violence despite having strong gun safety laws due to gun trafficking, as traffickers can distribute firearms illegally past state lines. The right to bear arms Despite evidence from other countries demonstrating that strict gun control measures reduce rates of gun violence, the United States has remained reluctant to enact gun control laws. This can largely be attributed to the Second Amendment of the Constitution, which states that citizens have the right to bear arms. Consequently, gun control has become a highly partisan issue in the U.S., with ** percent of Democrats believing that it was more important to limit gun ownership while ** percent of Republicans felt that it was more important to protect the right of Americans to own guns.

The Office of Gun Violence Prevention (OGVP) shares real-time gun violence data to increase government transparency, improve the public's awareness, and support community-based gun violence prevention and reduction partners. All District crime data is available through Crime Cards. The dashboards below focus on gun violence only. The data in these dashboards is updated daily at 7:40AM with the incidents from the day before. View data covering 7-Day Look-back of Gun Violence and Year-to-date Gun Violence.All statistics presented here are based on preliminary DC criminal code offense definitions. The data do not represent official statistics submitted to the FBI under the Uniform Crime Reporting program (UCR) or National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS). All preliminary offenses are coded based on DC criminal code and not the FBI offense classifications. Please understand that any comparisons between MPD preliminary data as published on this website and the official crime statistics published by the FBI under the Uniform Crime Reporting Program (UCR) are inaccurate and misleading. The MPD does not guarantee (either expressed or implied) the accuracy, completeness, timeliness, or correct sequencing of the information. The MPD will not be responsible for any error or omission, or for the use of, or the results obtained from the use of this information. Read complete data notes at buildingblocks.dc.gov/data.

The death rate from firearm-related injuries in the United States reached 19.4 per 100,000 population among males in 2016. Females have a much smaller rate of firearm-related deaths than males, with the rate among males over five times that of females. The overall death rate from firearm-related injuries has risen in recent years after seeing a drop in the late 1990s.

Homicides from firearms

Homicides account for a large portion of firearm-related deaths. In 2017, there were almost 11,000 homicides by firearm in the United States. In fact, as of that time, homicides by firearm accounted for around 72.6 percent of all homicides in the U.S. Handguns are the most commonly used firearm for homicide.

Gun ownership

Firearms regulation, or gun control, remains a relevant and divisive issue in the U.S. However, the ownership of legal firearms is widespread. As of 2018, around 43 percent of households had at least one firearm, an increase from recent years. Unsurprisingly, just as men have a higher death rate from firearms, they also have a much higher firearm ownership rate.

The graph shows the number of gun deaths per year in the United States from 1999 to 2023. The x-axis represents the years, while the y-axis displays the annual count of gun-related fatalities. The data ranges from a low of 28,663 gun deaths in 2000 to a high of 48,830 in 2021. From 1999 to 2014, the numbers remained relatively stable with slight fluctuations. However, gun deaths began increasing significantly after 2015, peaking in 2021 before a slight decline in 2022 and 2023. The graph highlights long-term trends in gun-related fatalities, emphasizing a notable rise in recent years.

Number and percentage of homicide victims, by type of firearm used to commit the homicide (total firearms; handgun; rifle or shotgun; other firearm-like weapons; firearm, type of firearm is unknown), Canada, 1974 to 2024.

The statistic shows the rate of firearm homicide deaths per 100,000 of population in the United States from 1990 to 2020. In 2020, about 5.9 of every 100,000 people were killed by a firearm in the United States.

In 2023, there were ****** fatalities caused by injuries related to firearms in the United States, a slight decrease from the previous year. In 2021, there were ****** firearm deaths, the highest number of gun deaths ever recorded in the country. However, this figure has remained relatively high over the past 25 years, with ****** firearm deaths in 1990 and a slight dip in fatalities between 1999 and 2002. Firearms in the United States The right to own firearms in the United States is enshrined in the 2nd Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, and while this right may be seen as quintessentially American, the relationship between Americans and their firearms has become fraught in the last few years. The proliferation of mass shootings in the U.S. has brought the topic of gun control into the national spotlight, with support for banning assault-style weapons a particularly divisive issue among Americans. Gun control With a little less than **** of all Americans owning at least one firearm and the highest rate of civilian gun ownership in the world, it is easy to see how the idea of gun control is a political minefield in the U.S. However, public opinion has begun to shift over the past ten years, and a majority of Americans report that laws governing the sale of firearms should be stricter than they are now.

This dataset consists of gun violence within Jefferson county that may fall within LMPDs radar, including non-fatal shootings, homicides, as well as shot-spotter data. The mapping data points where there are victims have been obfuscated to maintain privacy, while still being accurate enough to be placed in its correct boundaries, particularly around, neighborhoods, ZIP Codes, Council districts, and police divisions. The data also excludes any victim information that could be used to identify any individual. this data is used to make the public aware of what is going on in their communities. The data consists of only criminal incidents, excluding any cases that are deemed non-criminal.Field NameField DescriptionCase numberPolice report number. For ShotSpotter detections, it is the ShotSpotter ID.DateTimeDate and time in which the original incident occurred. Time is rounded down.AddressAddress rounded down to the one hundred block of where the initial incident occured. Unless it is an intersection.NeighborhoodNeighborhood in which the original incident occurred.Council DistrictCouncil district in which the original incident occurred.LatitudeLatitude coordinate used to map the incidentLongitudeLongitude coordinate used to map the incidentZIP CodeZIP Code in which the original incident occurred.Crime Typea distinction between incidents, whether it is a non-fatal shooting, homicide, or a ShotSpotter detection.CauseUsed to differentiate on the cause of death for homicide victims.SexGender of the victim of the initial incident.RaceRace/Ethnicity of the victim in a given incident.Age GroupCategorized age groups used to anonymize victim information.Division NamePolice division or department where the initial incident occurred.Crime report data is provided for Louisville Metro Police Divisions only; crime data does not include smaller class cities, unless LMPD becomes involved in smaller agency incident.The data provided in this dataset is preliminary in nature and may have not been investigated by a detective at the time of download. The data is therefore subject to change after a complete investigation. This data represents only calls for police service where a police incident report was taken. Due to the variations in local laws and ordinances involving crimes across the nation, whether another agency utilizes Uniform Crime Report (UCR) or National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS) guidelines, and the results learned after an official investigation, comparisons should not be made between the statistics generated with this dataset to any other official police reports. Totals in the database may vary considerably from official totals following the investigation and final categorization of a crime. Therefore, the data should not be used for comparisons with Uniform Crime Report or other summary statistics.Contact:Ivan Benitez, Ph.D.Gun Violence Data FellowOffice for Safe and Healthy Neighborhoodsivan.benitez@louisvilleky.gov

In recent years there has been an increase in the rate of firearm-related deaths in the United States. In 2021, there were **** such deaths per 100,000 population. This is the highest rate seen since the early *****. Firearm deaths Firearm-related deaths are much more common among males than females, with almost ****** firearm deaths among males in the United States in 2021, compared to just ****** among females. Those aged 25 to 34 years are the age group with the highest number of deaths from firearms, followed by those aged 15 to 24. The states with the highest mortality rates from firearms are Mississippi, Louisiana, and Wyoming. Firearm suicides The use of firearms is one of the most common methods for suicide in the United States. Around ** percent of male suicides and ** percent of female suicides are conducted by firearms. In 2020, there were a total of ****** suicide deaths from firearms. Suicide is currently the **** leading cause of death in the United States.

Number of homicide victims, by method used to commit the homicide (total methods used; shooting; stabbing; beating; strangulation; fire (burns or suffocation); other methods used; methods used unknown), Canada, 1974 to 2024.

In 2023, 13,529 recorded murders in the United States were committed by firearm. This is a decrease from the previous year, when 12,244 homicides were committed with a firearm in the country. However, figures may not accurately reflect the total number of homicides, as not all law enforcement agencies in the U.S. submitted homicide data.

In 2024, ** people were killed in homicide cases involving firearms. ** people were killed in homicides in Norway that year, the second-highest during the period under consideration. The number of homicide cases in total and the number of cases involving firearms have remained relatively stable since 2014.

Financial overview and grant giving statistics of Coalition to Stop Gun Violence

In the United States, Black people have higher rates of gun homicide than White people across all age groups. As of 2022, gun homicide rates were highest among Black people aged between 15 and 24 years, at ***** gun homicides per 100,000 of the population. In comparison, there were only **** gun homicides per 100,000 of the White population within this age range. However, the risk for gun homicide was greatest among all adolescents and adults between the ages of 15 to 44 in that year. The impact of guns on young Americans In the last few years, firearms have become the leading cause of death for American children and teenagers aged one to 19 years old, accounting for more deaths than car crashes and diseases. School shootings also remain on the rise recently, with the U.S. recording ** times as many school shootings than other high-income nations from 2009 to 2018. Black students in particular experience a disproportionately high number of school shootings relative to their population, and K-12 teachers at schools made up mostly of students of color are more likely to report feeling afraid that they or their students would be a victim of attack or harm. The right to bear arms Despite increasingly high rates of gun-related violence, gun ownership remains a significant part of American culture, largely due to the fact that the right to bear arms is written into the U.S. Constitution. Although firearms are the most common murder weapon used in the U.S., accounting for approximately ****** homicides in 2022, almost **** of American households have at least one firearm in their possession. Consequently, it is evident that firearms remain easily accessible nationwide, even though gun laws may vary from state to state. However, the topic of gun control still causes political controversy, as the majority of Republicans agree that it is more important to protect the right of Americans to own guns, while Democrats are more inclined to believe that it is more important to limit gun ownership.

This dataset was collected from the Children's Defense Fund website. The data come from the "Protect Children, Not Guns" Reports from years 2007, 2004 and 2000. They include data on deaths of children from firearms due to homicide, suicide, accident, and undetermined intent from 1996 to 2004 by state. Sources: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Center for Health Statistics, Table III: Deaths from # selected causes, and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, WISQARS, at http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/wisqars/ [2001]. Calculations by the Childrens Defense Fund.

Financial overview and grant giving statistics of States United to Prevent Gun Violence

This dataset lists the number of well known school shootings by state. Some states have had more incidents than others. School shooting is a term popularized in American and Canadian media to describe gun violence at educational institutions, especially the mass murder or spree killing of people connected with an institution. A school shooting can be perpetrated by one or more students, expelled students, alumni, faculty members, or outsiders. Unlike acts of revenge against specific people, school shootings usually involve multiple intended or actual victims, often randomly targeted. Source: Wikipedia section on school shootings http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_shootings#List_of_school_shootings

Financial overview and grant giving statistics of Delaware Coalition Against Gun Violence Inc

Financial overview and grant giving statistics of New Yorkers Against Gun Violence Inc

Data tables relating to offences involving weapons as recorded by police and hospital episode statistics.