U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

Bureau of Justice Statistics

BJS

Special Report

I

n 2011, a total of 478,400 fatal and nonfatal violent 

crimes were committed with a firearm (table 1). 

Homicides made up about 2% of all firearm-related 

crimes. There were 11,101 firearm homicides in 2011, 

down by 39% from a high of 18,253 in 1993 (figure 1). 

The majority of the decline in firearm-related homicides 

occurred between 1993 and 1998. Since 1999, the number of 

firearm homicides increased from 10,828 to 12,791 in 2006 

before declining to 11,101 in 2011. 

Nonfatal firearm-related violent victimizations against 

persons age 12 or older declined 70%, from 1.5 million 

in 1993 to 456,500 in 2004 (figure 2). The number then 

fluctuated between about 400,000 to 600,000 through 2011.1 

While the number of firearm crimes declined over time, the 

percentage of all violence that involved a firearm did not 

change substantively, fluctuating between 6% and 9% over 

the same period. In 1993, 9% of all violence was committed 

with a firearm, compared to 8% in 2011. 

MAY 2013 NCJ 241730

Michael Planty, Ph.D., and Jennifer L. Truman, Ph.D., BJS Statisticians

HIGHLIGHTS

 Firearm-related homicides declined 39%, from 18,253 in 

1993 to 11,101 in 2011.

 Nonfatal firearm crimes declined 69%, from 1.5 million 

victimizations in 1993 to 467,300 victimizations in 2011. 

 For both fatal and nonfatal firearm victimizations, the 

majority of the decline occurred during the 10-year period 

from 1993 to 2002.

 Firearm violence accounted for about 70% of all homicides 

and less than 10% of all nonfatal violent crime from 1993 to 

2011.

 About 70% to 80% of firearm homicides and 90% of 

nonfatal firearm victimizations were committed with a 

handgun from 1993 to 2011.

 From 1993 to 2010, males, blacks, and persons ages 18 to 24 

had the highest rates of firearm homicide.

 In 2007-11, about 23% of victims of nonfatal firearm crime 

were injured.

 About 61% of nonfatal firearm violence was reported to 

the police in 2007-11.

 In 2007-11, less than 1% of victims in all nonfatal violent 

crimes reported using a firearm to defend themselves 

during the incident. 

 In 2004, among state prison inmates who possessed a gun 

at the time of offense, less than 2% bought their firearm at 

a flea market or gun show and 40% obtained their firearm 

from an illegal source.

Firearm Violence, 1993-2011

Number Rate per 100,000 persons

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

0

2

4

6

8

'93 ‘94 ‘95 ‘96 ‘97 ‘98 ‘99 ‘00 ‘01 ‘02 ‘03 ‘04 ‘05 ‘06 ‘07 ‘08 ‘09 ‘10 ‘11*

Rate

Figure 1

Firearm homicides, 1993–2011

Note: Excludes homicides due to legal intervention and operations of war. See 

appendix table 1 for numbers and rates.

*Preliminary estimates retrieved from Hoyert DL, Xu JQ. (2012) Deaths: 

Preliminary data for 2011. National Vital Statistics Reports, 61(6). 

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury 

Prevention and Control. Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System 

(WISQARS), 1993–2010. Retrieved March 2013 from www.cdc.gov/ncipc/wisqars. 

1Many percentages and counts presented in this report are based on 

nonfatal firearm victimizations. Since firearm homicides accounted for 

about 2% of all firearm victimizations, when firearm homicides are included 

in the total firearm estimates, the findings do not change significantly.
FIREARM VIOLENCE, 1993-2011 | MAY 2013 2

The primary source of information on firearm-related 

homicides was obtained from mortality data based on 

death certificates in the National Vital Statistics System of 

the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), Centers 

for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Web-based 

Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS). 

These mortality data include causes of death reported by 

attending physicians, medical examiners, and coroners, 

and demographic information about decedents reported 

by funeral directors who obtain that information from 

family members and other informants. The NCHS collects, 

compiles, verifies, and prepares these data for release to the 

public. 

The estimates of nonfatal violent victimization are based 

on data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics’ (BJS) National 

Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), which collects 

information on nonfatal crimes against persons age 12 

or older reported and not reported to the police from 

a nationally representative sample of U.S. households. 

Homicide rates are presented per 100,000 persons and the 

nonfatal victimization rates are presented per 1,000 persons 

age 12 or older. Additional information on firearm violence 

in this report comes from the School-Associated Violent 

Deaths Surveillance Study (SAVD), the FBI’s Supplemental 

Homicide Reports (SHR), the Survey of Inmates in State 

Correctional Facilities (SISCF), and the Survey of Inmates 

in Federal Correctional Facilities (SIFCF). Each source 

provides different information about victims and incident 

characteristics. Estimates are shown for different years based 

on data availability and measures of reliability. (For more 

information about these sources, see Methodology.) 

TABLE 1 

Criminal firearm violence, 1993–2011

Number Percent

Year

Total fatal and nonfatal 

firearm violence

Firearm 

homicides

Nonfatal firearm 

victimizationsa Nonfatal firearm incidentsb

Rate of nonfatal 

firearm victimizationc All violence involving firearms

All firearm violence 

that was homicide 

1993 1,548,000 18,253 1,529,700 1,222,700 7.3 9.2% 1.2%

1994 1,585,700 17,527 1,568,200 1,287,200 7.4 9.3 1.1

1995 1,208,800 15,551 1,193,200 1,028,900 5.5 7.9 1.3

1996 1,114,800 14,037 1,100,800 939,500 5.1 7.9 1.3

1997 1,037,300 13,252 1,024,100 882,900 4.7 7.7 1.3

1998 847,200 11,798 835,400 673,300 3.8 7.0 1.4

1999 651,700 10,828 640,900 523,600 2.9 6.1 1.7

2000 621,000 10,801 610,200 483,700 2.7 7.3 1.7

2001 574,500 11,348 563,100 507,000 2.5 7.7 2.0

2002 551,800 11,829 540,000 450,800 2.3 7.4 2.1

2003 479,300 11,920 467,300 385,000 2.0 6.2 2.5

2004 468,100 11,624 456,500 405,800 1.9 6.9 2.5

2005 515,900 12,352 503,500 446,400 2.1 7.4 2.4

2006 627,200 12,791 614,400 552,000 2.5 7.4 2.0

2007 567,400 12,632 554,800 448,400 2.2 8.3 2.2

2008 383,500 12,179 371,300 331,600 1.5 6.0 3.2

2009 421,600 11,493 410,100 383,400 1.6 7.4 2.7

2010 426,100 11,078 415,000 378,800 1.6 8.6 2.6

2011d 478,400 11,101 467,300 414,600 1.8 8.2 2.3

Note: See appendix table 3 for standard errors.

aA victimization refers to a single victim that experienced a criminal incident.

bAn incident is a specific criminal act involving one or more victims or victimizations.

cPer 1,000 persons age 12 or older. 

dPreliminary homicide estimates retrieved from Hoyert DL, Xu JQ. (2012) Deaths: Preliminary data for 2011. National Vital Statistics Reports, 61(6). 

Sources: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 1993–2011; and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury 

Prevention and Control, Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS), 1993–2010. Retrieved March 2013 from www.cdc.gov/ncipc/wisqars. 

Figure 2

Nonfatal firearm victimizations, 1993–2011

Note: See appendix table 2 for numbers, rates, and standard errors.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 

1993–2011.

Number Rate per 1,000 persons 

age 12 or older 

0

500,000

1,000,000

1,500,000

2,000,000

'93 '94 '95 '96 '97 '98 '99 '00 '01 '02 '03 '04 '05 '06 '07 '08 '09 '10 '11 0

2

4

6

8

Rate
Trend estimates of nonfatal firearm violence are presented 

as annual 1-year averages or 2-year rolling averages, as 

noted in each table or figure. For ease of presentation, 2-year 

estimates are referenced according to the most recent year. 

For example, estimates reported for 2011 represent the 

average estimates for 2010 and 2011. Other tables in this 

report focus on a single 5-year aggregate period from 2007 

through 2011. These approaches—using rolling averages 

and aggregating years—increase the reliability and stability 

of estimates, which facilitiates comparisons over time and 

between subgroups.

The majority of firearm crimes were committed with a 

handgun

From 1993 to 2011, about 60% to 70% of homicides were 

committed with a firearm (table 2). Over the same period, 

between 6% and 9% of all nonfatal violent victimizations 

were committed with a firearm, with about 20% to 30% of 

robberies and 22% to 32% of aggravated assaults involving a 

firearm. 

Handguns accounted for the majority of both homicide and 

nonfatal firearm violence (table 3). A handgun was used in 

about 83% of all firearm homicides in 1994, compared to 

73% in 2011. Other types of firearms, such as shotguns and 

rifles, accounted for the remainder of firearm homicides. 

For nonfatal firearm violence, about 9 in 10 were committed 

with a handgun, and this remained stable from 1994 to 2011.

TABLE 2

Percent of violence involving a firearm, by type of crime, 

1993–2011

Year Homicide

Nonfatal 

violencea Robbery

Aggravated 

assault

1993 71.2% 9.1% 22.3% 30.7%

1994 71.4 9.2 27.1 31.9

1995 69.0 7.8 27.3 28.0

1996 68.0 7.8 24.6 25.7

1997 68.0 7.6 19.9 27.0

1998 65.9 7.0 20.1 26.5

1999 64.1 6.0 19.2 22.4

2000 64.4 7.2 21.1 26.6

2001b 55.9 7.5 29.5 26.0

2002 67.1 7.3 23.4 28.7

2003 67.2 6.1 22.4 22.2

2004 67.0 6.8 19.7 23.6

2005 68.2 7.2 21.8 25.7

2006 68.9 7.3 16.6 24.3

2007 68.8 8.1 20.0 32.6

2008 68.3 5.8 19.6 24.6

2009 68.4 7.2 27.0 23.2

2010 68.1 8.4 24.7 25.4

2011c 69.6 8.0 25.7 30.6

Note: See appendix table 4 for standard errors.

aNonfatal violence includes rape, sexual assault, robbery, aggravated and simple 

assault. A small percentage of rape and sexual assaults involved firearms but are 

not shown in table due to small sample sizes. 

bThe homicide estimates that occurred as a result of the events of September 11, 

2001, are included in the total number of homicides.

cPreliminary homicide estimates retrieved from Hoyert DL, Xu JQ. (2012) Deaths: 

Preliminary data for 2011. National Vital Statistics Reports, 61(6). 

Sources: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 1993–

2011; and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury 

Prevention and Control, Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System 

(WISQARS), 1993–2010. Retrieved March 2013 from www.cdc.gov/ncipc/wisqars. 

TABLE 3

Criminal firearm violence, by type of firearm, 1994–2011

Homicide Nonfatal violence

Handgun Other firearm* Handgun Other firearm* Gun type unknown

Year

Annual 

number Percent

Annual 

number Percent

Average annual 

number Percent

Average annual 

number Percent

Average annual 

number Percent

1994 13,510 82.7% 2,830 17.3% 1,387,100 89.5% 150,200 9.7% 11,700 ! 0.8% !

1995 12,090 81.9 2,670 18.1 1,240,200 89.8 132,800 9.6 7,700 ! 0.6 !

1996 10,800 81.1 2,510 18.9 999,600 87.1 141,000 12.3 6,400 ! 0.6 !

1997 9,750 78.8 2,630 21.2 894,200 84.2 159,800 15.0 8,400 ! 0.8 !

1998 8,870 80.4 2,160 19.6 783,400 84.3 141,100 15.2 5,300 ! 0.6 !

1999 8,010 78.8 2,150 21.2 659,600 89.4 74,100 10.0 4,500 ! 0.6 !

2000 8,020 78.6 2,190 21.4 555,800 88.8 65,300 10.4 4,500 ! 0.7 !

2001 7,820 77.9 2,220 22.1 506,600 86.3 65,900 11.2 14,100 ! 2.4 !

2002 8,230 75.8 2,620 24.2 471,600 85.5 63,200 11.5 16,700 ! 3.0 !

2003 8,890 80.3 2,180 19.7 436,100 86.6 53,200 10.6 14,400 ! 2.9 !

2004 8,330 78.0 2,350 22.0 391,700 84.8 53,400 11.6 16,900 ! 3.7 !

2005 8,550 75.1 2,840 24.9 410,600 85.5 56,200 11.7 13,200 ! 2.8 !

2006 9,060 77.0 2,700 23.0 497,400 89.0 47,600 8.5 14,000 ! 2.5 !

2007 8,570 73.6 3,080 26.4 509,700 87.2 65,600 11.2 9,300 ! 1.6 !

2008 7,930 71.8 3,120 28.2 400,700 86.5 57,400 12.4 5,000 ! 1.1 !

2009 7,370 71.3 2,970 28.7 348,700 89.2 37,600 9.6 4,400 ! 1.1 !

2010 6,920 69.6 3,030 30.4 382,100 92.6 26,700 6.5 3,800 ! 0.9 !

2011 7,230 72.9 2,690 27.1 389,400 88.3 49,700 11.3 2,100 ! 0.5 !

Note: Nonfatal violence data based on 2-year rolling averages beginning in 1993. Homicide data are presented as annual estimates. See appendix table 5 for standard errors.

*Includes rifle, shotgun, and other types of firearms.

! Interpret with caution. Estimate based on 10 or fewer sample cases, or coefficient of variation is greater than 50%.

Sources: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 1993–2011; and FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1994–2011.
FIREARM VIOLENCE, 1993-2011 | MAY 2013 4

Males, blacks, and persons ages 18 to 24 were most 

likely to be victims of firearm violence

Sex

In 2010, the rate of firearm homicide for males was 6.2 per 

100,000, compared to 1.1 for females (figure 3). Firearm 

homicide for males declined by 49% (from 12.0 per 100,000 

males in 1993 to 6.2 in 2010), compared to a 51% decline 

for females (from 2.3 per 100,000 females in 1993 to 1.1 

in 2010). The majority of the decline for both males and 

females occurred in the first part of the period (1993 to 

2000). Over the more recent 10-year period from 2001 to 

2010, the decline in firearm homicide for both males and 

females slowed, resulting in about a 10% decline each.

In 2011, the rate of nonfatal firearm violence for males (1.9 

per 1,000 males) was not significantly different than the rate 

for females (1.6 per 1,000) (figure 4). From 1994 to 2011, 

the rate of nonfatal firearm violence for males declined 81%, 

from 10.1 to 1.9 per 1,000 males. During the same period, 

the rate of nonfatal firearm violence against females dropped 

67%, from 4.7 to 1.6 per 1,000 females. As with fatal firearm 

violence, the majority of the decline occurred in the first 

part of the period. From 2002 to 2011, the rate of nonfatal 

firearm violence for males declined 35%, while there was no 

no statistical change in the rate for females.

Figure 3

Firearm homicides, by sex, 1993–2010

Rate per 100,000 persons

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

Female

Male

'93 '94 '95 '96 '97 '98 '99 '00 '01 '02 '03 '04 '05 '06 '07 '08 '09 '10

Note: See appendix table 6 for numbers and rates.

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury 

Prevention and Control, Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System 

(WISQARS), 1993–2010. Retrieved March 2013 from www.cdc.gov/ncipc/wisqars. 

Figure 4

Nonfatal firearm violence, by sex, 1994–2011

Rate per 1,000 persons age 12 or older

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

Female

Male

'94 '95 '96 '97 '98 '99 '00 '01 '02 '03 '04 '05 '06 '07 '08 '09 '10 '11

Note: Data based on 2-year rolling averages beginning in 1993. See appendix 

table 7 for rates and standard errors.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 

1993–2011.
FIREARM VIOLENCE, 1993-2011 | MAY 2013 5

Race/Hispanic origin

In 2010, the rate of firearm homicide for blacks was 14.6 

per 100,000, compared to 1.9 for whites, 2.7 for American 

Indians and Alaska Natives, and 1.0 for Asians and Pacific 

Islanders (figure 5). From 1993 to 2010, the rate of firearm 

homicides for blacks declined by 51%, down from 30.1 per 

100,000 blacks, compared to a 48% decline for whites and a 

43% decline for American Indians and Alaska Natives. Asian 

and Pacific Islanders declined 79% over the same period, 

from 4.6 to 1.0 per 100,000. Although blacks experienced a 

decline similar to whites and American Indians and Alaska 

Natives, the rate of firearm homicide for blacks was 5 to 

6 times higher than every other racial group in 2010. As 

with other demographic groups, the majority of the decline 

occurred in the first part of the period and slowed from 2001 

to 2010.

The rate of firearm homicide for both Hispanics and nonHispanics was about 4 per 100,000 each in 2010 (figure 6). 

However, the Hispanic rate had a larger and more consistent 

decline over time. The Hispanic rate declined 54% from 1993 

to 2001 and declined 34% since 2001. In comparison, the 

non-Hispanic rate declined more slowly, down 42% from 

1993 to 2001 and down 5% since 2001.

In 2011, non-Hispanic blacks (2.8 per 1,000) and Hispanics 

(2.2 per 1,000) had higher rates of nonfatal firearm violence 

than non-Hispanic whites (1.4 per 1,000) (figure 7). The 

rate of nonfatal firearm violence for Hispanics was not 

statistically different from the rate for blacks. From 1994 

to 2011, the rates of nonfatal firearm violence for blacks 

and Hispanics both declined by 83%, compared to 74% for 

whites. 

Rate per 100,000 persons

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

American Indian/Alaska Native Asian/Pacic Islander 

Black

White

'93 '94 '95 '96 '97 '98 '99 '00 '01 '02 '03 '04 '05 '06 '07 '08 '09 '10

Figure 5

Firearm homicides, by race, 1993–2010

Note: See appendix table 8 for numbers and rates.

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury 

Prevention and Control, Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System 

(WISQARS), 1993–2010. Retrieved March 2013 from www.cdc.gov/ncipc/wisqars. 

Figure 6

Firearm homicides, by Hispanic origin, 1993–2010

Rate per 100,000 persons

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

Non-Hispanic

Hispanic

'93 '94 '95 '96 '97 '98 '99 '00 '01 '02 '03 '04 '05 '06 '07 '08 '09 '10

Note: See appendix table 9 for numbers and rates.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 

National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Web-based Injury Statistics 

Query and Reporting System (WISQARS), 1993–2010. Retrieved March 2013 from 

www.cdc.gov/ncipc/wisqars.

Figure 7

Nonfatal firearm violence, by race and Hispanic origin, 

1994–2011

Note: Data based on 2-year rolling averages beginning in 1993. See appendix 

table 10 for rates and standard errors.

*Excludes persons of Hispanic or Latino origin.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 

1993–2011.

Rate per 1,000 persons age 12 or older

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

Hispanic

Black*

White*

'94 '95 '96 '97 '98 '99 '00 '01 '02 '03 '04 '05 '06 '07 '08 '09 '10 '11
FIREARM VIOLENCE, 1993-2011 | MAY 2013 6

Age

In 2010, the rate of firearm homicide was 10.7 per 100,000 

for persons ages 18 to 24, compared to 8.1 for persons ages 

25 to 34 and 0.3 for persons age 11 or younger (table 4). 

Firearm homicide against persons ages 18 to 34 accounted 

for about 30% of all firearm homicides in 2010. From 1993 

to 2010, the rate of homicides for persons ages 18 to 24 

declined 51%, compared to a 35% decline for persons ages 

25 to 34 and 50% for persons age 11 or younger. 

In 2011, persons ages 18 to 24 had the highest rate of 

nonfatal firearm violence (5.2 per 1,000). From 1994 to 2011, 

the rates of nonfatal firearm violence declined for persons 

ages 18 to 49, with each group declining between 72% and 

77%. The rate for persons ages 12 to 17 declined 88%, from 

11.4 to 1.4 per 1,000.

Persons living in urban areas had the highest rates of 

nonfatal firearm violence 

Region

In 2010, the South had the highest rate of firearm homicides 

at 4.4 per 100,000 persons, compared to 3.4 in the Midwest, 

3.0 in the West, and 2.8 in the Northeast (figure 8). 

From 1993 to 2010, the rate of firearm homicides in the 

South declined by 49%, compared to a 50% decline in the 

Northeast, a 37% decline in the Midwest, and a 59% decline 

in the West. 

TABLE 4 

Fatal and nonfatal firearm violence, by age, 1993–2011

Firearm homicide rate per 100,000 persons Nonfatal firearm violence rate per 1,000 persons age 12 or older

Year 11 or younger 12–17 18–24 25–34 35–49 50 or older 12–17 18–24 25–34 35–49 50 or older

1993 0.5 8.0 21.9 12.4 6.7 2.2 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

1994 0.4 7.8 21.2 12.0 6.3 2.1 11.4 18.1 8.7 6.3 1.6

1995 0.4 7.0 18.6 10.6 5.3 2.0 9.8 16.1 7.7 5.5 1.6

1996 0.4 5.6 17.2 9.4 4.9 1.8 7.6 12.3 6.8 4.8 1.4

1997 0.4 4.8 16.3 9.0 4.6 1.6 7.1 12.8 5.4 4.5 1.2

1998 0.3 3.7 14.4 7.9 4.2 1.5 5.7 12.4 4.5 3.8 1.0

1999 0.3 3.6 12.4 7.6 3.7 1.4 4.7 8.9 4.6 2.6 0.7

2000 0.2 2.9 12.4 7.7 3.8 1.4 3.2 7.0 3.6 2.5 1.0

2001 0.3 2.8 12.9 8.4 3.9 1.3 2.2 6.8 3.1 2.4 1.0

2002 0.3 2.9 13.0 8.8 4.0 1.4 2.4 7.3 3.1 1.8 0.8

2003 0.3 2.7 13.3 9.0 4.0 1.3 2.8 6.3 2.7 1.6 0.7

2004 0.2 3.0 11.9 8.9 3.9 1.4 1.9 3.9 2.5 2.1 0.8

2005 0.2 3.1 12.9 9.6 4.1 1.3 1.2 4.4 3.1 1.8 1.0

2006 0.3 3.6 13.6 9.6 4.1 1.4 2.3 5.6 3.4 1.8 1.0

2007 0.3 3.5 13.1 9.5 4.2 1.3 4.3 4.6 3.0 2.2 0.9

2008 0.3 3.3 12.1 9.0 4.1 1.3 3.5 3.2 2.7 1.6 0.7

2009 0.3 2.9 11.1 8.1 3.9 1.4 0.9 3.9 2.3 1.5 0.6

2010 0.3 2.8 10.7 8.1 3.6 1.4 0.6 ! 5.8 2.0 1.3 0.6

2011 ... ... ... ... ... ... 1.4 5.2 2.2 1.4 0.7

Note: Nonfatal firearm violence data based on 2-year rolling averages beginning in 1993. Homicide data are annual estimates. See appendix table 11 for firearm 

homicide numbers and appendix table 12 for nonfatal firearm violence standard errors..

~Not applicable. 

...Not available. 

! Interpret with caution. Estimate based on 10 or fewer sample cases, or coefficient of variation is greater than 50%.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 1993–2011; and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury 

Prevention and Control. Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS), 1993–2010. Retrieved March 2013 from www.cdc.gov/ncipc/wisqars. 

Figure 8

Firearm homicides, by region, 1993–2011

Rate per 100,000 persons

0

2

4

6

8

10

West

Midwest

South

Northeast

'93 '94 '95 '96 '97 '98 '99 '00 '01 '02 '03 '04 '05 '06 '07 '08 '09 '10

Note: See appendix table 13 for numbers and rates.

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury 

Prevention and Control. Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System 

(WISQARS), 1993–2010. Retrieved March 2013 from www.cdc.gov/ncipc/wisqars).
FIREARM VIOLENCE, 1993-2011 | MAY 2013 7

In 2011, residents in the South (1.9 per 1,000) had higher 

rates of nonfatal firearm violence than those in the Northeast 

(1.3 per 1,000) (figure 9). Residents in the South (1.9 per 

1,000), Midwest (1.7 per 1,000), and West (1.8 per 1,000) had 

statistically similar rates of nonfatal firearm violence. 

Urban-rural location

The publicly available National Vital Statistics System fatal 

data files do not contain information about the incident’s 

urban-rural location or population size. This information is 

limited to nonfatal firearm victimizations. Urban residents 

generally experienced the highest rate of nonfatal firearm 

violence (figure 10). In 2011, the rate of nonfatal firearm 

violence for residents in urban areas was 2.5 per 1,000, 

compared to 1.4 per 1,000 for suburban residents and 1.2 

for rural residents. From 1994 to 2011, the rates of nonfatal 

firearm violence for all three locations declined between 76% 

and 78%.

Population size

In 2011, higher rates of nonfatal violence occurred in areas 

with a population of more than 250,000 residents than 

in areas with a population under 250,000 (table 5). From 

1997 to 2011, the rates of nonfatal firearm violence for 

populations between 250,000 and 499,999 and 1 million 

residents or more declined between 57% and 62%, compared 

to a 37% decline for residents living in populations between 

500,000 and 999,999 residents.

Figure 9

Nonfatal firearm violence, by region, 1997–2011

Rate per 1,000 persons age 12 or older

0

2

4

6

8

West

South

Midwest

Northeast

'97 '98 '99 '00 '01 '02 '03 '04 '05 '06 '07 '08 '09 '10 '11

Note: Data based on 2-year rolling averages beginning in 1996. Region 

information was not available from 1993 to 1995. See appendix table 14 for rates 

and standard errors.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 

1996–2011.

Figure 10

Nonfatal firearm violence, by urban-rural location, 

1994–2011

Rate per 1,000 persons age 12 or older

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

Rural

Suburban

Urban

'94 '95 '96 '97 '98 '99 '00 '01 '02 '03 '04 '05 '06 '07 '08 '09 '10 '11

Note: Data based on 2-year rolling averages beginning in 1993. See appendix 

table 15 for rates and standard errors.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 

1993–2011.

TABLE 5

Nonfatal firearm violence, by population size, 1997–2011 

Rate per 1,000 persons age 12 or older

Year

Not a 

place*

Less than 

100,000

100,000–

249,999

250,000–

499,999

500,000–

999,999

1 million 

or more

1997 3.9 3.8 7.0 10.3 7.3 7.3

1998 3.0 3.9 4.8 7.0 9.2 5.7

1999 1.9 3.1 3.1 5.5 9.0 6.4

2000 1.5 2.2 3.9 6.5 6.3 5.6

2001 1.4 2.1 4.1 6.1 5.5 5.1

2002 1.2 2.3 2.8 3.9 4.9 5.3

2003 1.4 2.0 2.8 3.3 5.1 3.6

2004 1.4 1.4 3.0 4.1 5.5 2.7

2005 1.2 1.6 2.9 3.6 4.5 4.6

2006 1.6 2.1 2.6 2.6 3.8 4.9

2007 1.5 2.6 2.7 2.4 5.4 2.1

2008 0.8 2.1 2.1 3.2 4.9 1.4

2009 0.9 1.1 2.2 3.0 4.0 3.5

2010 0.9 1.2 1.8 2.8 5.1 4.0

2011 1.4 1.2 1.3 3.9 4.6 3.2

Note: Data based on 2-year rolling averages beginning in 1996. Population size 

information was not available from 1993 to 1995. See appendix table 16 for rates 

and standard errors.

*A concentration of population that is not either legally bounded as an 

incorporated place having an active government or delineated for statistical 

purposes as a census designated place with definite geographic boundaries, 

such as a city, town, or village.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 

1996–2011.
FIREARM VIOLENCE, 1993-2011 | MAY 2013 8

About 11% of nonfatal violence committed by a 

stranger involved a firearm 

Intimate partners suffered about 4.7 million nonfatal violent 

victimizations in the 5-year period from 2007 through 

2011, and the offender used a firearm in about 4% of 

these victimizations (about 195,700 incidents) (table 6). 

Similar to intimate partner violent victimizations, offenders 

who were either a relative or known to the victim (e.g., 

a friend or acquaintance) used a firearm in about 4% to 

7% of these total victimizations. In comparison, persons 

victimized by strangers experienced about 11 million violent 

victimizations, and the offender used a firearm in 11% of 

these victimizations.2

In 2007-11, the majority of nonfatal firearm violence 

occurred in or around the victim’s home (42%) or in an 

open area, on the street, or while on public transportation 

(23%) (table 7). Less than 1% of all nonfatal firearm violence 

occurred in schools.

2The fatal data from the National Vital Statistics System does not have 

victim-offender relationship information. The SHR victim-offender 

relationship data are not shown due to the large amount of missing data.

TABLE 6 

Nonfatal firearm and nonfirearm violence, by victim-offender relationship, 2007–2011

Total nonfatal violence

Firearm violence Nonfirearm violence

Relationship to victim Number Percent of total violence Number Percent of total violence

Total 29,611,300 2,218,500 7.5% 27,392,800 92.5%

Nonstranger 15,715,900 738,000 4.7 14,977,900 95.3

Intimatea 4,673,600 195,700 4.2 4,477,900 95.8

Other relative 2,157,700 158,100 7.3 1,999,500 92.7

Friend/acquaintance 8,884,600 384,100 4.3 8,500,500 95.7

Stranger 10,983,100 1,177,900 10.7 9,805,200 89.3

Unknownb 2,912,300 302,600 10.4 2,609,600 89.6

Note: Detail may not sum to total due to rounding. See appendix table 17 for standard errors.

aIncludes current or former spouses, boyfriends, or girlfriends.

bIncludes relationships unknown and number of offenders unknown. 

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 2007–2011.

TABLE 7

Nonfatal firearm and nonfirearm violence, by location of crime, 2007–2011

Total nonfatal violence Firearm violence Nonfirearm violence

Location Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

Total 29,618,300 100% 2,218,500 100% 27,399,800 100%

Victims home or lodging 6,491,400 21.9 427,600 19.3 6,063,800 22.1

Near victim’s home 4,804,700 16.2 504,500 22.7 4,300,200 15.7

In, at, or near a friend, neighbor, or relative’s home 2,175,900 7.3 132,600 6.0 2,043,300 7.5

Commercial place 2,878,600 9.7 195,400 8.8 2,683,200 9.8

Parking lot or garage 1,688,400 5.7 340,600 15.4 1,347,900 4.9

School* 3,931,100 13.3 12,600 ! 0.6 ! 3,918,500 14.3

Open area, on street, or public transportation 4,636,900 15.7 508,400 22.9 4,128,500 15.1

Other location 3,011,200 10.2 96,800 4.4 2,914,400 10.6

! Interpret with caution. Estimate based on 10 or fewer sample cases, or coefficient of variation is greater than 50%. See appendix table 18 for standard errors.

*Includes inside a school building or on school property.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 2007–2011.
FIREARM VIOLENCE, 1993-2011 | MAY 2013 9

School-related homicides of youth ages 5 to 18 

accounted for less than 2% of all youth homicides

The number of homicides at schools declined over time, from 

an average of 29 per year in the 1990s (school year 1992-93 

to 1999-00) to an average of 20 per year in the 2000s (school 

year 2000-01 to 2009-10) (table 8). Generally, homicides in 

schools comprised less than 2% of all homicides of youth 

ages 5 to 18. During the 2000s, an average of about 1,600 

homicides of youth ages 5 to 18 occurred per year. The 

majority of homicides against youth both at school and away 

from school were committed with a firearm.

TABLE 8

School-associated homicides of youth ages 5 to 18, by location and school years, 1992–93 to 2009–10

Homicides of youth ages 5 to 18

School year Total homicides Percent of all homicides of youth at school a Homicides at schoolb,c

1992–93 2,719 34 1.3%

1993–94 2,911 29 1.0

1994–95 2,691 28 1.0

1995–96 2,548 32 1.3

1996–97 2,210 28 1.3

1997–98 2,104 34 1.6

1998–99 1,791 33 1.8

1999–00 1,566 14 0.9

2000–01 1,501 14 0.9

2001–02 1,494 16 1.1

2002–03 1,538 18 1.2

2003–04 1,459 23 1.6

2004–05 1,545 22 1.4

2005–06 1,687 21 1.2

2006–07 1,796 32 1.8

2007–08 1,740 21 1.2

2008–09 1,579 17 1.1

2009–10 ... 17 ...

Note: At school includes on school property, on the way to or from regular sessions at school, and while attending or traveling to or from a school-sponsored event.

...Not available.

aYouth ages 5 to 18 from July 1, 1992, through June 30, 2009.

bYouth ages 5 to 18 from July 1, 1992, through June 30, 2010.

c

The data from school year 1999–00 through 2009–10 are subject to change until interviews with school and law enforcement officials have been completed. The details 

learned during the interviews can occasionally change the classification of a case. 

Sources: Table 1.1 from Robers, S., Zhang, J., and Truman, J. (2012). Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2011 (NCES 2012-002/NCJ 236021). National Center for Education 

Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, and Bureau of Justice Statistics, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. Homicide data are from: Centers for 

Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 1992–2010 School-Associated Violent Deaths Surveillance Study (SAVD); FBI and Supplementary Homicide Reports (SHR), 

1992–2009. 
FIREARM VIOLENCE, 1993-2011 | MAY 2013 10

TABLE 9

Nonfatal firearm and nonfirearm violence, by injury and treatment received, 2007–2011

Total nonfatal violence Firearm violence Nonfirearm violence

Injury and treatment Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

Injury 29,618,300 100% 2,218,500 100% 27,399,800 100%

Not injured 22,187,500 74.9 1,707,800 77.0 20,479,700 74.7

Injured 7,430,800 25.1 510,700 23.0 6,920,100 25.3

Seriousa 1,249,300 4.2 148,300 6.7 1,147,000 4.2

Gun shot 46,000 0.2 46,000 2.1 ~ ~

Minorb 5,742,700 19.4 357,100 16.1 5,385,700 19.7

Rape without other injuries 374,300 1.3 5,400! 0.2 ! 368,900 1.3

Treatment for injuryc 7,430,800 100% 510,700 100% 6,920,100 100%

No treatment 4,304,300 57.9 140,700 27.5 4,163,600 60.2

Any treatment 3,103,500 41.8 370,000 72.5 2,733,500 39.5

Treatment settingd 3,103,500 100% 370,000 100% 2,733,500 100%

At the scene/home of victim, neighbor, or 

 friend/location 1,078,000 34.7 68,000 18.4 1,010,000 36.9

In doctor’s office/hospital emergency room/ 

 overnight at hospital 2,025,600 65.3 302,000 81.6 1,723,500 63.1

Note: See appendix table 19 for standard errors.

! Interpret with caution. Estimate based on 10 or fewer sample cases, or coefficient of variation is greater than 50%.

~Not applicable. 

aIncludes injuries such as gun shots, knife wounds, internal injuries, unconsciousness, and broken bones.

bIncludes bruises, cuts, and other minor injuries.

cIncludes only victims who were injured.

dIncludes only victims who were injured and received treatment.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 2007–2011.

In 2007-11, about 23% of all nonfatal firearm victims 

were injured

In 2007-11, about 23% of all nonfatal firearm victims were 

physically injured during the victimization (table 9). About 

7% suffered serious injuries (e.g., a gunshot wound, broken 

bone, or internal injuries), while 16% suffered minor injuries 

(e.g., bruises or cuts). Of the nonfatal firearm victims who 

were injured, 72% received some type of care, with about 

82% receiving care in a hospital or medical office. 

The victim reported that the offender had fired the weapon 

in 7% of all nonfatal firearm victimizations. The victim 

suffered a gunshot wound in 28% of these victimizations 

(not shown in table). 
FIREARM VIOLENCE, 1993-2011 | MAY 2013 11

Nonfatal shooting victims 

According to the NCVS, an average of about 22,000 

nonfatal shooting victims occurred annually from 1993 to 

2002 (not shown in table). From 2002 to 2011, the number 

of victims declined by about half to 12,900 per year. In the 

5-year aggregate period from 2007-11, a total of 46,000 

nonfatal firearm victims were wounded with a firearm 

and another 58,483 were victims of a firearm homicide. 

The total firearm nonfatal gunshot injuries and homicides 

accounted for 5% of all firearm violent crimes in 2007-11. 

Data on nonfatal injury are also available in the National 

Electronic Injury Surveillance System All Injury Program 

(NEISS-AIP), which is operated by the U.S. Consumer 

Product Safety Commission (CPSC). According to these 

data, an average of 47,870 nonfatal assault injuries resulted 

from a firearm from 2001 to 2011 (figure 11). In 2007-11, 

the average number of nonfatal injuries from a firearm 

increased slightly to 51,810. 

The differences noted between the NCVS and NEISSAIP firearm injury estimates are due in part to a variety 

of technical issues. Both estimates are generated from 

samples and are subject to sampling error. The NCVS is a 

residential household survey that does not include the 

homeless, persons in institutional settings such as jails, 

prisons, mental health facilities, and certain other group 

quarters. Therefore, NCVS may miss injuries that involve 

persons who are homeless, victims who require lengthy 

stays in a hospital, and offenders who are incarcerated or 

placed in other institutional settings after the incident.

Figure 11

Nonfatal firearm injuries, 2001–2011

0

10,000

20,000

30,000

40,000

50,000

60,000

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 ! 2008 2009 2010 2011

Number of injuries

Note: See appendix table 20 for numbers and standard errors.

! Interpret with caution. Estimate based on fewer than 20 NEISS cases (based 

on unweighted data), national estimates less than 1,200 (based on weighted 

data), or the coefficient of variation (CV) of the estimate greater than 30%. 

Source: Consumer Product Safety Commission, National Electronic Injury 

Surveillance System All Injury Program (NEISS-AIP), 2001–2011. Accessed from 

the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, CDC.
FIREARM VIOLENCE, 1993-2011 | MAY 2013 12

The majority of firearm violence is reported to the 

police

In 2007-11, about 61% of nonfatal firearm violence was 

reported to the police, compared to 46% of nonfirearm 

violence (table 10). Among the nonfatal firearm 

victimizations that went unreported in 2007-11, the most 

common reasons victims gave for not reporting the crime 

was fear of reprisal (31%) and that the police could not or 

would not do anything to help (27%).

In 2007-11, about 1% of nonfatal violent crime victims 

used a firearm in self defense

In 2007-11, there were 235,700 victimizations where the 

victim used a firearm to threaten or attack an offender (table 

11). This amounted to approximately 1% of all nonfatal 

violent victimizations in the 5-year period. The percentage 

of nonfatal violent victimizations involving firearm use in 

self defense remained stable at under 2% from 1993 to 2011 

(not shown in table). In 2007-11, about 44% of victims of 

nonfatal violent crime offered no resistance, 1% attacked or 

threatened the offender with another type of weapon, 22% 

attacked or threatened without a weapon (e.g., hit or kicked), 

and 26% used nonconfrontational methods (e.g., yelling, 

running, hiding, or arguing). 

In instances where the victim was armed with a firearm, 

the offender was also armed with a gun in 32% of the 

victimizations, compared to 63% of victimizations where the 

offender was armed with a lesser weapon, such as a knife, or 

unarmed (not shown in table). A small number of property 

crime victims also used a firearm in self defense (103,000 

victims or about 0.1% of all property victimizations); 

however, the majority of victims (86%) were not present 

during the incident. No information was available on the 

number of homicide victims that attempted to defend 

themselves with a firearm or by other means. 

TABLE 10

Nonfatal firearm and nonfirearm violence reported and not reported to police, 2007–2011

Total nonfatal violence Firearm violence Nonfirearm violence

Total 100% 100% 100%

Reported 46.9% 61.5% 45.7%

Not reported 51.7% 37.6% 52.9%

Reason not reported 100% 100% 100%

Dealt with it another way 35.0 12.1 36.4

Not important enough to respondent 18.4 6.2 19.1

Police could not or would not help 16.7 27.1 16.1

Fear of reprisal 6.5 31.3 5.1

Did not want to get offender in trouble advised not to report 5.1 4.3! 5.1

Other/unknown/not one most important reason 18.2 19.0 18.2

Note: Detail may not sum to total due to rounding. Reasons for not reporting represent the reason the victim stated was most important. See appendix table 21 for 

standard errors.

!Interpret with caution. Estimate based on 10 or fewer sample cases, or coefficient of variation is greater than 50%.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 2007–2011.

TABLE 11

Self-protective behaviors, by type of crime, 2007–2011

Violent crime Property crime

Self-protective behavior Number Percent Number Percent

Total 29,618,300 100% 84,495,500 100%

Offered no resistance 12,987,300 43.8 10,162,000 12.0

Threatened or attacked with a firearm 235,700 0.8 103,000 0.1

Threatened or attacked with other weapon 391,100 1.3 38,200 --

Threatened or attacked without a weapon 6,552,900 22.1 421,300 0.5

Nonconfrontational tacticsa 7,768,700 26.2 1,187,100 1.4

Other 1,641,300 5.5 223,400 0.3

Unknown 41,300 0.1 12,200 ! --

Victim was not presentb ~ ~ 72,348,200 85.6

Note: See appendix table 22 for standard errors.

! Interpret with caution. Estimate based on 10 or fewer sample cases, or coefficient of variation is greater than 50%. 

~Not applicable.

--Less than 0.05%. 

aIncludes yelling, running, or arguing. 

bIncludes property crime where the victim was not present.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 2007–2011.
FIREARM VIOLENCE, 1993-2011 | MAY 2013 13

Firearm use by offenders 

In 2004, an estimated 16% of state prison inmates and 

18% of federal inmates reported that they used, carried, 

or possessed a firearm when they committed the crime 

for which they were serving a prison sentence (table 12). 

This represented a slight change from 1997, where an 

estimated 18% of state prison inmates and 16% of federal 

inmates reported having a firearm when they committed 

the crime for their current sentence. During the offense 

that brought them to prison, 13% of state inmates and 

16% of federal inmates carried a handgun. In addition, 

about 1% had a rifle and another 2% had a shotgun. Of 

inmates armed with a firearm during the offense, about 

7% of state inmates and 8% of federal inmates were 

armed with either a single shot firearm or a conventional 

semiautomatic, and 2% of state inmates and 3% of federal 

inmates were armed with a military-style semiautomatic or 

fully automatic firearm (table 13). 

In 2004, among state prison inmates who possessed a gun 

at the time of offense, fewer than 2% bought their firearm 

at a flea market or gun show, about 10% purchased it from 

a retail store or pawnshop, 37% obtained it from family or 

friends, and another 40% obtained it from an illegal source 

(table 14). This was similar to the percentage distribution 

in 1997.

TABLE 12 

Possession of firearms by state and federal prison inmates 

at time of offense, by type of firearm, 1997 and 2004

1997 2004

Type of firearm State Federal State Federal

Total 100% 100% 100% 100%

Firearm 18.3% 15.8% 15.8% 17.8%

Handgun 15.1 13.6 13.3 15.5

Rifle 1.3 1.4 1.3 1.5

Shotgun 2.3 2.1 1.7 2.0

Other 0.4 0.5 0.1 0.1

No firearm 81.7% 84.2% 84.2% 82.2%

Note: Includes only inmates with a current conviction. Estimates may differ 

from previously published BJS reports. To account for differences in the 1997 

and 2004 inmate survey questionnaires, the analytical methodology used in 

1997 was revised to ensure comparability with the 2004 survey. Detail may 

not sum to total as inmates may have had possessed more than one firearm.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Survey of Inmates in State and Federal 

Correctional Facilities, 1997 and 2004.

TABLE 13 

Possession of firearms by state and federal prison inmates 

at time of offense, by specific type of firearm, 1997 and 

2004

1997 2004

Specific type of firearm State Federal State Federal

Single shot 9.9% 7.6% 7.5% 8.2%

Conventional semiautomatic 7.8 8.3 6.6 7.9

Military-style semiautomatic or 

fully automatic 1.5 1.7 2.0 3.2

Other 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.1

Note: Includes only inmates with a current conviction. Estimates may differ 

from previously published BJS reports. To account for differences in the 1997 

and 2004 inmate survey questionnaires, the analytical methodology used in 

1997 was revised to ensure comparability with the 2004 survey.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Survey of Inmates in State and Federal 

Correctional Facilities, 1997 and 2004.

TABLE 14 

Source of firearms possessed by state prison inmates at 

time of offense, 1997 and 2004

Percent of state prison inmates

Source of firearm 1997 2004

Total 100% 100%

Purchased or traded from— 14.0% 11.3%

Retail store 8.2 7.3

Pawnshop 4.0 2.6

Flea market 1.0 0.6

Gun show 0.8 0.8

Family or friend 40.1% 37.4%

Purchased or traded 12.6 12.2

Rented or borrowed 18.9 14.1

Other 8.5 11.1

Street/illegal source 37.3% 40.0%

Theft or burglary 9.1 7.5

Drug dealer/off street 20.3 25.2

Fence/black market 8.0 7.4

Other 8.7% 11.2%

Note: Includes only inmates with a current conviction. Estimates may differ 

from previously published BJS reports. To account for differences in the 1997 

and 2004 inmate survey questionnaires, the analytical methodology used in 

1997 was revised to ensure comparability with the 2004 survey. 

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Survey of Inmates in State and Federal 

Correctional Facilities, 1997 and 2004.
FIREARM VIOLENCE, 1993-2011 | MAY 2013 14

Methodology

Estimates in this report are based primarily on data from 

the Bureau of Justice Statistics’ (BJS) National Crime 

Victimization Survey (NCVS) and the National Center 

for Health Statistics’ (NCHS) Centers for Disease Control 

and Prevention Center for Disease Control’s Web-based 

Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS). 

Additional estimates come from the School-Associated 

Violent Deaths Surveillance Study (SAVD), the National 

Electronic Injury Surveillance System All Injury Program 

(NEISS-AIP) data, the FBI’s Supplemental Homicide Reports 

(SHR), the Survey of Inmates in State Correctional Facilities 

(SISCF), and the Survey of Inmates in Federal Correctional 

Facilities (SIFCF). 

The National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS)

The NCVS is an annual data collection conducted by the U.S. 

Census Bureau for BJS. The NCVS is a self-report survey 

in which interviewed persons are asked about the number 

and characteristics of victimizations experienced during 

the prior 6 months. The NCVS collects information on 

nonfatal personal crimes (rape or sexual assault, robbery, 

aggravated assault, simple assault, and personal larceny) and 

household property crimes (burglary, motor vehicle theft, 

and other theft) both reported and not reported to police. 

In addition to providing annual level and change estimates 

on criminal victimization, the NCVS is the primary source 

of information on the nature of criminal victimization 

incidents. Survey respondents provide information about 

themselves (such as age, sex, race and ethnicity, marital 

status, education level, and income) and if they experienced 

a victimization. For crime victims, data are collected about 

each victimization incident, including information about the 

offender (such as age, race and ethnicity, sex, and victimoffender relationship), characteristics of the crime (including 

time and place of occurrence, use of weapons, nature of 

injury, and economic consequences), whether the crime was 

reported to police, reasons why the crime was or was not 

reported, and experiences with the criminal justice system.

The NCVS is administered to persons age 12 or older from a 

nationally representative sample of households in the United 

States. In 2011, about 143,120 persons age 12 or older from 

79,800 households across the country were interviewed 

during the year. Once selected, households remain in the 

sample for 3 years, and eligible persons in these households 

are interviewed every 6 months for a total of seven 

interviews. New households rotate into the sample on an 

ongoing basis to replace outgoing households that have been 

in sample for the 3-year period. The sample includes persons 

living in group quarters (such as dormitories, rooming 

houses, and religious group dwellings) and excludes persons 

living in military barracks and institutional settings (such 

as correctional or hospital facilities) and the homeless. (For 

more information, see the Survey Methodology for Criminal 

Victimization in the United States, 2008, NCJ 231173, BJS 

website, May 2011.)

The 79,800 households that participated in the NCVS in 

2011 represent a 90% household response rate. The person 

level response rate—the percentage of persons age 12 or 

older in participating households who completed an NCVS 

interview—was 88% in 2011. 

For this report, prior to applying the weights to the data, 

all victimizations that occurred outside of the U.S. were 

excluded. From 1993 to 2011, less than 1% of the unweighted 

violent victimizations occurred outside of the U.S. and was 

excluded from the analyses.

Weighting adjustments for estimating personal 

victimization

Estimates in this report use data primarily from the 1993 to 

2011 NCVS data files weighted to produce annual estimates 

for persons age 12 or older living in U.S. households. 

Because the NCVS relies on a sample rather than a census 

of the entire U.S. population, weights are designed to inflate 

sample point estimates to known population totals and to 

compensate for survey nonresponse and other aspects of the 

sample design.

The NCVS data files include both household and person 

weights. The household weight is commonly used to 

calculate estimates of property crimes, such as motor vehicle 

theft or burglary, which are identified with the household. 

Person weights provide an estimate of the population 

represented by each person in the sample. Person weights 

are most frequently used to compute estimates of crime 

victimizations of persons in the total population. Both 

household and person weights, after proper adjustment, are 

also used to form the denominator in calculations of crime 

rates.

The victimization weights used in this analysis account 

for the number of persons present during an incident and 

for repeat victims of series incidents. The weight counts 

series incidents as the actual number of incidents reported 

by the victim, up to a maximum of ten incidents. Series 

victimizations are victimizations that are similar in type 

but occur with such frequency that a victim is unable to 

recall each individual event or to describe each event in 

detail. Survey procedures allow NCVS interviewers to 

identify and classify these similar victimizations as series 

victimizations and collect detailed information on only 

the most recent incident in the series. In 2011, about 2% 

of all victimizations were series incidents. Weighting series 

incidents as the number of incidents up to a maximum of 
FIREARM VIOLENCE, 1993-2011 | MAY 2013 15

ten produces more reliable estimates of crime levels, while 

the cap at ten minimizes the effect of extreme outliers on 

the rates. Additional information on the series enumeration 

is detailed in Methods for Counting High Frequency Repeat 

Victimizations in the National Crime Victimization Survey, 

NCJ 237308, BJS website, April 2012. 

Standard error computations 

When national estimates are derived from a sample, as 

is the case with the NCVS, caution must be taken when 

comparing one estimate to another estimate or when 

comparing estimates over time. Although one estimate may 

be larger than another, estimates based on a sample have 

some degree of sampling error. The sampling error of an 

estimate depends on several factors, including the amount 

of variation in the responses, the size of the sample, and the 

size of the subgroup for which the estimate is computed. 

When the sampling error around the estimates is taken into 

consideration, the estimates that appear different may, in 

fact, not be statistically different. 

One measure of the sampling error associated with an 

estimate is the standard error. The standard error can vary 

from one estimate to the next. In general, for a given metric, 

an estimate with a smaller standard error provides a more 

reliable approximation of the true value than an estimate 

with a larger standard error. Estimates with relatively large 

standard errors are associated with less precision and 

reliability and should be interpreted with caution. 

In order to generate standard errors around estimates 

from the NCVS, the Census Bureau produces generalized 

variance function (GVF) parameters for BJS. The GVFs take 

into account aspects of the NCVS complex sample design 

and represent the curve fitted to a selection of individual 

standard errors based on the Jackknife Repeated Replication 

technique. The GVF parameters were used to generate 

standard errors for each point estimate (such as counts, 

percentages, and rates) in the report. For average annual 

estimates, standard errors were based on the ratio of the 

sums of victimizations and respondents across years. 

In this report, BJS conducted tests to determine whether 

differences in estimated numbers and percentages were 

statistically significant once sampling error was taken into 

account. Using statistical programs developed specifically 

for the NCVS, all comparisons in the text were tested for 

significance. The primary test procedure used was Student’s 

t-statistic, which tests the difference between two sample 

estimates. To ensure that the observed differences between 

estimates were larger than might be expected due to 

sampling variation, the significance level was set at the 95% 

confidence level. 

Data users can use the estimates and the standard errors of 

the estimates provided in this report to generate a confidence 

interval around the estimate as a measure of the margin of 

error. The following example illustrates how standard errors 

can be used to generate confidence intervals: 

According to the NCVS, in 2011, the rate of nonfatal 

firearm violence was 1.8 per 1,000 (see table 1). Using the 

GVFs, BJS determined that the estimate has a standard 

error of 0.2 (see appendix table 3). A confidence interval 

around the estimate was generated by multiplying the 

standard errors by ±1.96 (the t-score of a normal, twotailed distribution that excludes 2.5% at either end of the 

distribution). Thus, the confidence interval around the 

1.8 estimate from 2011 is 1.8 ± 0.2 (0.2 X 1.96) or (1.4 to 

2.2). In other words, if different samples using the same 

procedures were taken from the U.S. population in 2011, 

95% of the time the rate of nonfatal firearm violence was 

between 1.4 and 2.2 per 1,000.

In this report, BJS also calculated a coefficient of variation 

(CV) for all estimates, representing the ratio of the standard 

error to the estimate. CVs provide a measure of reliability 

and a means to compare the precision of estimates across 

measures with differing levels or metrics. If the CV was 

greater than 50%, or the unweighted sample had 10 or fewer 

cases, the estimate would have been noted with a “!” symbol 

(interpret data with caution; estimate is based on 10 or fewer 

sample cases, or the coefficient of variation exceeds 50%). 

Many of the variables examined in this report may be related 

to one another and to other variables not included in the 

analyses. Complex relationships among variables were not 

fully explored in this report and warrant more extensive 

analysis. Readers are cautioned not to draw causal inferences 

based on the results presented. 

Methodological changes to the NCVS in 2006 

Methodological changes implemented in 2006 may have 

affected the crime estimates for that year to such an extent 

that they are not comparable to estimates from other years. 

Evaluation of 2007 and later data from the NCVS conducted 

by BJS and the Census Bureau found a high degree of 

confidence that estimates for 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010 are 

consistent with and comparable to estimates for 2005 and 

previous years. The reports, Criminal Victimization, 2006, 

NCJ 219413, December 2007; Criminal Victimization, 2007, 

NCJ 224390, December 2008; Criminal Victimization, 2008, 

NCJ 227777, September 2009; Criminal Victimization, 2009, 

NCJ 231327, October 2010; Criminal Victimization, 2010, 

NCJ 235508, September 2011; and Criminal Victimization, 

2011, NCJ 239437, October 2012, are available on the BJS 

website.
FIREARM VIOLENCE, 1993-2011 | MAY 2013 16

Although caution is warranted when comparing data from 

2006 to other years, the aggregation of multiple years of data 

in this report diminishes the potential variation between 

2006 and other years. In general, findings do not change 

significantly if data for 2006 are excluded from the analyses.

Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting 

System Fatal (WISQARSTM Fatal) 

WISQARS Fatal provides mortality data related to injury. 

The mortality data reported in WISQARS Fatal come from 

death certificate data reported to the CDC’s National Center 

for Health Statistics (NCHS). Data include causes of death 

reported by attending physicians, medical examiners, and 

coroners. It also includes demographic information about 

decedents reported by funeral directors, who obtain that 

information from family members and other informants. 

NCHS collects, compiles, verifies, and prepares these data 

for release to the public. The data provide information 

about what types of injuries are leading causes of deaths, 

how common they are, and who they affect. These data are 

intended for a broad audience—the public, the media, public 

health practitioners and researchers, and public health 

officials—to increase their knowledge of injury. 

WISQARS Fatal mortality reports provide tables of the total 

numbers of injury-related deaths and the death rates per 

100,000 U.S. population. The reports list deaths according to 

cause (mechanism) and intent (manner) of injury by state, 

race, Hispanic origin, sex, and age groupings. Data in this 

report are provided for homicides by firearm from 1993 to 

2010, including some preliminary 2011 estimates. The injury 

mortality data were classified based on the International 

Classification of Diseases (ICD)-10 classification system 

from 1999 and later, and the ICD-9 system for 1998 

and earlier. The comparability study showed that the 

comparability for homicide and firearm homicide between 

the two systems was very high; therefore, data are shown 

from both periods.3

National Electronic Injury Surveillance System All 

Injury Program (NEISS-AIP)

The NEISS-AIP is operated by the U.S. Consumer Product 

Safety Commission (CPSC). It is a collaborative effort by the 

National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC) 

and CPSC. The NEISS is a national probability sample of 

hospitals in the U.S. and its territories. Data are collected 

about all types and external causes of nonfatal injuries and 

poisonings treated in U.S. hospital emergency departments, 

whether or not they are associated with consumer 

products. This report uses the estimates on nonfatal assault 

injuries from a firearm. This excludes injuries that were 

unintentional, by legal intervention, or self-harm.

School-Associated Violent Deaths Surveillance Study 

(SAVD) 

The SAVD is an epidemiological study developed by 

the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 

conjunction with the U.S. Department of Education and 

the U.S. Department of Justice. SAVD seeks to describe 

the epidemiology of school-associated violent deaths, 

identify common features of these deaths, estimate the rate 

of school-associated violent death in the United States, 

and identify potential risk factors for these deaths. The 

surveillance system includes descriptive data on all schoolassociated violent deaths in the United States, including all 

homicides, suicides, or legal intervention in which the fatal 

injury occurred on the campus of a functioning elementary 

or secondary school; while the victim was on the way to or 

from regular sessions at such a school; or while attending 

or on the way to or from an official school-sponsored event. 

Victims of such incidents include nonstudents, as well as 

students and staff members. SAVD includes descriptive 

information about the school, event, victim(s), and 

offender(s). The SAVD Surveillance System has collected 

data from July 1, 1992, through the present. 

SAVD uses a four-step process to identify and collect data on 

school-associated violent deaths. Cases are initially identified 

through a search of the LexisNexis newspaper and media 

database. Then law enforcement officials are contacted to 

confirm the details of the case and to determine if the event 

meets the case definition. Once a case is confirmed, a law 

enforcement official and a school official are interviewed 

regarding details about the school, event, victim(s), and 

offender(s). A copy of the full law enforcement report is 

also sought for each case. The information obtained on 

schools includes school demographics, attendance/absentee 

rates, suspensions/expulsions and mobility, school history 

of weapon-carrying incidents, security measures, violence 

prevention activities, school response to the event, and 

school policies about weapon carrying. Event information 

includes the location of injury, the context of injury (e.g., 

while classes were being held or during break), motives for 

injury, method of injury, and school and community events 

happening around the time period. Information obtained 

on victim(s) and offender(s) includes demographics, 

circumstances of the event (date/time, alcohol or drug 

use, and number of persons involved), types and origins of 

weapons, criminal history, psychological risk factors, schoolrelated problems, extracurricular activities, and family 

history, including structure and stressors.

For several reasons, all data from 1999 to the present are 

flagged as preliminary. For some recent data, the interviews 

with school and law enforcement officials to verify case 

details have not been completed. The details learned during 

the interviews can occasionally change the classification 

of a case. Also, new cases may be identified because of 

the expansion of the scope of the media files used for case 

identification. Sometimes other cases not identified during 

3National Center for Health Statistics. (2001). Comparability of cause of 

death between ICD-9 and ICD-10: Preliminary estimates. Retrieved from 

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr49/nvsr49_02.pdf.
FIREARM VIOLENCE, 1993-2011 | MAY 2013 17

earlier data years using the independent case finding efforts 

(which focus on nonmedia sources of information) will be 

discovered. Also, other cases may occasionally be identified 

while the law enforcement and school interviews are being 

conducted to verify known cases.

The FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program, 

Supplementary Homicide Reports (SHR)

The FBI’s SHR were used for information about gun 

type used in firearm homicides. The UCR program 

collects and publishes criminal offense, arrest, and law 

enforcement personnel statistics. Under the UCR program, 

law enforcement agencies submit information to the FBI 

monthly. Offense information is collected on the eight Part I 

offenses: homicide, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault, 

burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson. The 

UCR program collects data on only those crimes that come 

to the attention of law enforcement. 

Homicide incident information—through SHR data—is 

submitted with details on location, victim, and offender 

characteristics. Homicide is defined as murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, which is the willful killing of one 

human being by another. The analyses excludes deaths 

caused by negligence, suicide, or accident; justifiable 

homicides; and attempts to murder. Deaths from the 

terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, are not included in 

any of the analyses. 

Not all agencies that report offense information to the FBI 

also submit supplemental data on homicides. About 90 

percent of homicides are included in the SHR. However, 

adjustments can be made to the weights to correct for 

missing victim reports. Estimates from the SHR used in this 

report were generated by BJS using a weight developed by 

BJS that reconciles the counts of SHR homicide victims with 

those in the UCR for the 1992 through 2011 data years. 

Surveys of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional 

Facilities (SISCF and SIFCF)

The SISCF and the SIFCF have provided nationally 

representative data on state prison inmates and sentenced 

federal inmates held in federally owned and operated 

facilities. The SISCF was conducted in 1974, 1979, 1986, 

1991, 1997, and 2004, and the SIFCF in 1991, 1997, and 

2004. The 2004 SISCF was conducted for BJS by the U.S. 

Census Bureau, which also conducted the SIFCF for BJS 

and the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Both surveys provide 

information about current offense and criminal history, 

family background and personal characteristics, prior 

drug and alcohol use and treatment, gun possession, and 

prison treatment, programs, and services. The surveys 

are the only national source of detailed information on 

criminal offenders, particularly special populations such 

as drug and alcohol users and offenders who have mental 

health problems. Systematic random sampling was used 

to select the inmates, and the 2004 surveys of state and 

federal inmates were administered through CAPI. In 2004, 

14,499 state prisoners in 287 state prisons and 3,686 federal 

prisoners in 39 federal prisons were interviewed.
FIREARM VIOLENCE, 1993-2011 | MAY 2013 18

APPENDIX TABLE 1 

Numbers and rates for figure 1: Firearm homicides, 

1993–2011

Year Number Rate per 100,000 persons

1993 18,253 7.0

1994 17,527 6.7

1995 15,551 5.8

1996 14,037 5.2

1997 13,252 4.9

1998 11,798 4.3

1999 10,828 3.9

2000 10,801 3.8

2001 11,348 4.0

2002 11,829 4.1

2003 11,920 4.1

2004 11,624 4.0

2005 12,352 4.2

2006 12,791 4.3

2007 12,632 4.2

2008 12,179 4.0

2009 11,493 3.8

2010 11,078 3.6

2011 11,101 3.6

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury 

Prevention and Control. Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System 

(WISQARS), 1993–2010. Retrieved March 2013 from www.cdc.gov/ncipc/wisqars.

APPENDIX TABLE 2

Numbers, rates, and standard errors for figure 2: Nonfatal firearm victimizations, 1993–2011

Number Standard error

Rate per 1,000 persons 

age 12 or older Standard error

1993 1,529,700 104,582 7.3 0.5

1994 1,568,200 83,431 7.4 0.4

1995 1,193,200 70,572 5.5 0.3

1996 1,100,800 68,653 5.1 0.3

1997 1,024,100 72,643 4.7 0.3

1998 835,400 69,401 3.8 0.3

1999 640,900 54,713 2.9 0.2

2000 610,200 55,220 2.7 0.2

2001 563,100 53,309 2.5 0.2

2002 540,000 50,299 2.3 0.2

2003 467,300 47,783 2.0 0.2

2004 456,500 47,513 1.9 0.2

2005 503,500 55,594 2.1 0.2

2006 614,400 61,310 2.5 0.2

2007 554,800 55,886 2.2 0.2

2008 371,300 45,794 1.5 0.2

2009 410,100 48,765 1.6 0.2

2010 415,000 47,172 1.6 0.2

2011 467,300 53,197 1.8 0.2

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 1993–2011.
FIREARM VIOLENCE, 1993-2011 | MAY 2013 19

APPENDIX TABLE 3

Standard errors for table 1: Criminal firearm violence, 1993–2011

Number

Year

Total fatal and nonfatal 

firearm violence

Nonfatal firearm 

victimizations

Nonfatal firearm 

incidents

Rate of nonfatal 

firearm victimization

Percent of all violence 

involving firearms

1993 105,349 104,582 91,169 0.5 0.6%

1994 84,005 83,431 73,911 0.4 0.4

1995 71,131 70,572 64,501 0.3 0.4

1996 69,183 68,653 62,377 0.3 0.5

1997 73,220 72,643 66,331 0.3 0.5

1998 70,022 69,401 60,556 0.3 0.5

1999 55,268 54,713 48,457 0.2 0.5

2000 55,810 55,220 48,015 0.2 0.6

2001 53,967 53,309 49,987 0.2 0.7

2002 50,946 50,299 45,234 0.2 0.6

2003 48,494 47,783 42,668 0.2 0.6

2004 48,200 47,513 44,433 0.2 0.7

2005 56,378 55,594 51,864 0.2 0.8

2006 62,038 61,310 57,669 0.2 0.7

2007 56,652 55,886 49,166 0.2 0.8

2008 46,637 45,794 42,966 0.2 0.7

2009 49,561 48,765 46,881 0.2 0.8

2010 47,913 47,172 44,695 0.2 0.9

2011 53,942 53,197 49,563 0.2 0.8

~Not applicable. 

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 1993–2011.

APPENDIX TABLE 4

Standard errors for table 2: Percent of violence involving a 

firearm, by type of crime, 1993–2011

Year Nonfatal violence Robbery Aggravated assault

1993 0.6% 2.2% 1.9%

1994 0.4 1.9 1.5

1995 0.4 2.1 1.5

1996 0.4 2.0 1.5

1997 0.5 2.2 1.7

1998 0.5 2.5 1.9

1999 0.5 2.3 1.8

2000 0.6 2.6 2.2

2001 0.6 3.4 2.3

2002 0.6 3.2 2.5

2003 0.6 3.1 2.3

2004 0.7 3.2 2.4

2005 0.8 3.3 2.8

2006 0.7 2.7 2.4

2007 0.8 2.9 2.9

2008 0.7 3.3 3.1

2009 0.8 3.8 2.9

2010 0.9 3.7 3.1

2011 0.8 4.0 3.2

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 

1993–2011.
FIREARM VIOLENCE, 1993-2011 | MAY 2013 20

APPENDIX TABLE 5 

Standard errors for table 3: Criminal firearm violence, by type of firearm, 1994–2011

Nonfatal violence

Handgun Other firearm Gun type unknown

Year Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

1994 94,313 1.8% 26,713 1.6% 6,951 0.4%

1995 77,109 1.6 21,832 1.5 4,899 0.4

1996 66,253 1.9 21,995 1.8 4,366 0.4

1997 68,335 2.3 25,950 2.2 5,534 0.5

1998 68,151 2.6 25,521 2.5 4,522 0.5

1999 63,909 2.5 18,379 2.3 4,189 0.6

2000 57,439 2.8 17,323 2.6 4,260 0.7

2001 53,625 3.1 17,115 2.7 7,586 1.3

2002 48,977 3.1 16,006 2.7 7,929 1.4

2003 46,655 3.2 14,670 2.7 7,392 1.4

2004 45,846 3.6 15,535 3.1 8,509 1.8

2005 50,621 3.8 17,269 3.3 8,153 1.7

2006 56,341 3.1 15,872 2.7 8,415 1.5

2007 56,630 3.2 18,308 2.9 6,598 1.1

2008 48,199 3.6 16,622 3.3 4,666 1.0

2009 47,110 3.7 14,157 3.4 4,688 1.2

2010 50,636 3.1 11,837 2.7 4,313 1.0

2011 43,185 3.1 13,868 2.9 2,676 0.6

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 1993–2011.

APPENDIX TABLE 6 

Numbers and rates for figure 3: Firearm homicides, by sex, 

1993–2010

Number Rate per 100,000 persons

Year Male Female Male Female

1993 15,228 3,025 12.0 2.3

1994 14,766 2,761 11.5 2.1

1995 13,021 2,530 10.0 1.9

1996 11,735 2,302 8.9 1.7

1997 11,147 2,105 8.4 1.5

1998 9,771 2,027 7.2 1.4

1999 8,944 1,884 6.5 1.3

2000 9,006 1,795 6.5 1.3

2001 9,532 1,816 6.8 1.3

2002 9,899 1,930 7.0 1.3

2003 10,126 1,794 7.1 1.2

2004 9,921 1,703 6.9 1.1

2005 10,561 1,791 7.3 1.2

2006 10,886 1,905 7.4 1.3

2007 10,767 1,865 7.3 1.2

2008 10,361 1,818 6.9 1.2

2009 9,615 1,878 6.4 1.2

2010 9,340 1,738 6.2 1.1

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury 

Prevention and Control. Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System 

(WISQARS), 1993–2010. Retrieved March 2013 from www.cdc.gov/ncipc/wisqars. 

APPENDIX TABLE 7

Rates and standard errors for figure 4: Nonfatal firearm 

violence, by sex, 1994–2011

Male Female

Year Rate* Standard error Rate* Standard error

1994 10.1 0.6 4.7 0.4

1995 9.3 0.5 3.7 0.3

1996 7.6 0.4 3.1 0.2

1997 6.4 0.4 3.5 0.3

1998 5.5 0.4 3.0 0.3

1999 4.4 0.4 2.3 0.2

2000 3.7 0.3 1.9 0.2

2001 3.5 0.3 1.7 0.2

2002 2.9 0.3 1.9 0.2

2003 2.7 0.2 1.6 0.2

2004 2.5 0.2 1.4 0.2

2005 2.5 0.3 1.4 0.2

2006 2.8 0.3 1.8 0.2

2007 2.8 0.3 1.9 0.2

2008 2.2 0.2 1.5 0.2

2009 2.0 0.2 1.1 0.2

2010 2.0 0.2 1.2 0.2

2011 1.9 0.2 1.6 0.2

*Per 1,000 persons age 12 or older.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 

1993–2011.
FIREARM VIOLENCE, 1993-2011 | MAY 2013 21

APPENDIX TABLE 8 

Numbers and rates for figure 5: Firearm homicides, by race, 1993–2010

Number Rate per 100,000 persons

Year White Black

American Indian/

Alaska Native

Asian/Pacific 

Islander White Black

American Indian/

Alaska Native

Asian/Pacific 

Islander

1993 7,918 9,824 106 405 3.7 30.1 4.6 4.6

1994 7,774 9,302 123 328 3.6 28.0 5.2 3.6

1995 7,144 7,935 130 342 3.2 23.4 5.3 3.6

1996 6,240 7,403 90 304 2.8 21.5 3.6 3.0

1997 6,025 6,841 96 290 2.7 19.5 3.7 2.8

1998 5,412 6,053 99 234 2.4 17.0 3.6 2.2

1999 4,918 5,577 104 229 2.2 15.4 3.7 2.0

2000 4,806 5,699 86 210 2.1 15.6 2.9 1.8

2001 5,188 5,885 87 188 2.2 15.8 2.8 1.5

2002 5,185 6,285 117 242 2.2 16.7 3.7 1.9

2003 5,173 6,397 109 241 2.2 16.7 3.3 1.8

2004 5,119 6,201 104 200 2.2 16.0 3.0 1.4

2005 5,266 6,703 117 266 2.2 17.1 3.3 1.8

2006 5,279 7,113 119 280 2.2 17.9 3.2 1.9

2007 5,380 6,960 91 201 2.2 17.2 2.4 1.3

2008 5,305 6,569 97 208 2.2 16.0 2.4 1.3

2009 4,950 6,216 112 215 2.0 14.9 2.7 1.3

2010 4,647 6,151 113 167 1.9 14.6 2.7 1.0

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System 

(WISQARS), 1993–2010. Retrieved March 2013 from www.cdc.gov/ncipc/wisqars.

APPENDIX TABLE 9 

Numbers and rates for figure 6: Firearm homicides, 

by Hispanic origin, 1993–2010

Number Rate per 100,000 persons

Year Hispanic Non-Hispanic Hispanic Non-Hispanic

1993 3,192 14,597 12.4 6.3

1994 3,149 14,065 11.7 6.0

1995 3,008 12,260 10.7 5.2

1996 2,529 11,229 8.6 4.7

1997 2,298 10,868 7.4 4.5

1998 2,090 9,620 6.5 4.0

1999 1,939 8,821 5.7 3.6

2000 1,958 8,767 5.6 3.6

2001 2,123 9,134 5.7 3.7

2002 2,168 9,575 5.6 3.9

2003 2,316 9,536 5.8 3.8

2004 2,241 9,323 5.4 3.7

2005 2,453 9,835 5.7 3.9

2006 2,472 10,260 5.5 4.0

2007 2,385 10,193 5.2 4.0

2008 2,260 9,882 4.7 3.9

2009 2,115 9,275 4.3 3.6

2010 1,919 9,082 3.8 3.5

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury 

Prevention and Control. Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System 

(WISQARS), 1993–2010. Retrieved March 2013 from www.cdc.gov/ncipc/wisqars. 
FIREARM VIOLENCE, 1993-2011 | MAY 2013 22

APPENDIX TABLE 10 

Rates and standard errors for figure 7: Nonfatal firearm violence, by race and Hispanic origin, 1994–2011

White Black Hispanic

American Indian/

Alaska Native Asian/Pacific Islander Two or more races

Year Rate*

Standard 

error Rate*

Standard 

error Rate*

Standard 

error Rate*

Standard 

error Rate*

Standard 

error Rate*

Standard 

error

1994 5.2 0.3 16.3 1.3 12.7 1.4 15.3 ! 5.3 10.3 2.0 ~ ~

1995 4.6 0.3 14.2 1.1 12.1 1.1 16.3 4.9 4.9 1.1 ~ ~

1996 3.9 0.2 11.6 0.9 9.3 0.9 13.3 ! 4.4 3.4 0.9 ~ ~

1997 4.0 0.3 9.4 0.9 6.9 0.8 3.7 ! 2.6 2.0 0.7 ~ ~

1998 3.4 0.3 7.4 0.8 5.6 0.8 20.9 ! 6.6 3.9 1.0 ~ ~

1999 2.2 0.2 7.9 0.9 5.0 0.8 25.1 ! 7.5 4.0 1.1 ~ ~

2000 1.8 0.2 7.0 0.8 4.7 0.7 4.8 ! 3.2 1.9 0.7 ~ ~

2001 2.0 0.2 5.0 0.7 3.8 0.6 1.1 ! 1.5 1.5 ! 0.6 ~ ~

2002 1.7 0.2 5.6 0.7 3.7 0.6 1.1 ! 1.4 0.9 ! 0.4 ~ ~

2003 1.5 0.2 5.7 0.7 2.6 0.4 -- ~ 1.0 ! 0.5 ~ ~

2004 1.7 0.2 4.4 0.6 1.5 0.3 -- ~ 1.1 ! 0.5 0.9 ! 1.1

2005 1.6 0.2 4.2 0.7 2.2 0.4 -- ~ 1.2 ! 0.5 2.8 ! 2.0

2006 1.7 0.2 4.4 0.7 3.4 0.6 1.8 ! 1.9 2.1 ! 0.7 4.0 ! 2.2

2007 1.4 0.2 7.1 0.9 3.0 0.5 3.3 ! 2.4 1.7 ! 0.6 4.7 ! 2.1

2008 1.0 0.1 6.9 0.8 1.9 0.4 3.2 ! 2.3 1.0 ! 0.5 2.7 ! 1.5

2009 0.9 0.1 5.1 0.7 1.7 0.4 2.9 ! 2.3 0.9 ! 0.4 1.4 ! 1.2

2010 1.0 0.1 4.5 0.7 2.1 0.4 9.2 ! 4.2 0.3 ! 0.2 5.7 ! 2.5

2011 1.4 0.1 2.8 0.4 2.2 0.4 8.6 ! 3.4 0.6 ! 0.3 7.6 2.3

*Per 1,000 persons age 12 or older.

! Interpret with caution. Estimate based on 10 or fewer sample cases, or coefficient of variation is greater than 50%.

~Not applicable.

--Less than 0.05.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 1993–2011.

APPENDIX TABLE 11

Numbers for table 4: Firearm homicides, by age, 1993–2011

Year

11 or 

younger 12–17 18–24 25–34 35–49

50 or 

older

1993 240 1,735 5,673 5,295 3,808 1,476

1994 176 1,736 5,435 5,059 3,700 1,399

1995 183 1,597 4,726 4,448 3,222 1,351

1996 178 1,295 4,334 3,918 3,030 1,266

1997 174 1,134 4,148 3,706 2,905 1,168

1998 157 888 3,753 3,231 2,669 1,082

1999 142 859 3,319 3,048 2,419 1,026

2000 110 709 3,371 3,074 2,488 1,037

2001 150 685 3,611 3,308 2,530 1,053

2002 151 721 3,708 3,465 2,646 1,125

2003 121 684 3,840 3,540 2,624 1,093

2004 105 763 3,485 3,503 2,533 1,214

2005 111 810 3,808 3,780 2,689 1,145

2006 142 940 4,030 3,767 2,688 1,216

2007 140 898 3,895 3,751 2,737 1,202

2008 140 844 3,662 3,612 2,655 1,264

2009 142 745 3,398 3,300 2,538 1,364

2010 127 708 3,273 3,331 2,294 1,340

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury 

Prevention and Control. Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System 

(WISQARS), 1993–2010. Retrieved March 2013 from www.cdc.gov/ncipc/wisqars. 
FIREARM VIOLENCE, 1993-2011 | MAY 2013 23

APPENDIX TABLE 12 

Standard errors for table 4: Nonfatal firearm violence, 

by age, 1994–2011

Year 12-17 18-24 25-34 35-49 50 or older

1994 1.2 1.4 0.8 0.6 0.2

1995 0.9 1.2 0.6 0.4 0.2

1996 0.8 1.0 0.6 0.4 0.2

1997 0.8 1.1 0.6 0.4 0.2

1998 0.8 1.1 0.5 0.4 0.2

1999 0.7 1.0 0.6 0.3 0.2

2000 0.6 0.8 0.5 0.3 0.2

2001 0.5 0.8 0.4 0.3 0.2

2002 0.5 0.8 0.4 0.3 0.1

2003 0.5 0.7 0.4 0.2 0.1

2004 0.4 0.6 0.4 0.3 0.2

2005 0.4 0.7 0.5 0.3 0.2

2006 0.5 0.8 0.5 0.3 0.2

2007 0.7 0.7 0.5 0.3 0.2

2008 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.1

2009 0.3 0.6 0.4 0.3 0.1

2010 0.2 0.8 0.4 0.2 0.1

2011 0.3 0.6 0.3 0.2 0.1

*Rate per 1,000 persons age 12 or older.

!Interpret with caution. Estimate based on 10 or fewer sample cases, or coefficient 

of variation is greater than 50%.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 

1993–2011.

APPENDIX TABLE 13

Numbers and rates for figure 8: Firearm homicides, by region, 1993–2011

Number Rate per 100,000 persons

Year Northeast South Midwest West Northeast South Midwest West

1993 2,918 7,863 3,365 4,107 5.6 8.7 5.5 7.3

1994 2,489 7,577 3,391 4,070 4.8 8.3 5.5 7.1

1995 2,100 6,659 2,980 3,812 4.0 7.1 4.8 6.5

1996 1,838 6,248 2,791 3,160 3.5 6.6 4.4 5.3

1997 1,641 6,020 2,661 2,930 3.1 6.3 4.2 4.9

1998 1,347 5,434 2,490 2,527 2.5 5.6 3.9 4.1

1999 1,327 4,905 2,319 2,277 2.5 5.0 3.6 3.7

2000 1,391 4,846 2,284 2,280 2.6 4.8 3.6 3.6

2001 1,407 4,989 2,477 2,475 2.6 4.9 3.8 3.8

2002 1,406 5,292 2,381 2,750 2.6 5.1 3.7 4.2

2003 1,489 5,395 2,324 2,712 2.7 5.2 3.6 4.1

2004 1,485 5,164 2,212 2,763 2.7 4.9 3.4 4.1

2005 1,554 5,536 2,387 2,875 2.9 5.2 3.6 4.2

2006 1,715 5,701 2,505 2,870 3.2 5.2 3.8 4.2

2007 1,577 6,055 2,354 2,646 2.9 5.5 3.6 3.8

2008 1,506 5,778 2,439 2,456 2.7 5.2 3.7 3.5

2009 1,440 5,438 2,359 2,256 2.6 4.8 3.5 3.2

2010 1,552 5,082 2,296 2,148 2.8 4.4 3.4 3.0

Source:Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System 

(WISQARS), 1993–2010. Retrieved March 2013 from www.cdc.gov/ncipc/wisqars. 
FIREARM VIOLENCE, 1993-2011 | MAY 2013 24

APPENDIX TABLE 14 

 Rates and standard errors for figure 9: Nonfatal firearm violence, by region, 1997–2011

Northeast Midwest South West

Year Rate* Standard error Rate* Standard error Rate* Standard error Rate* Standard error

1997 3.1 0.4 4.7 0.5 5.4 0.4 5.7 0.5

1998 2.1 0.3 3.9 0.4 5.0 0.4 5.1 0.5

1999 1.4 0.3 3.0 0.4 3.6 0.4 4.9 0.5

2000 1.3 0.3 2.5 0.3 2.8 0.3 4.5 0.5

2001 1.4 0.3 2.6 0.4 3.0 0.3 2.8 0.4

2002 1.3 0.3 2.2 0.3 3.3 0.3 2.0 0.3

2003 1.0 0.2 2.1 0.3 2.9 0.3 1.9 0.3

2004 0.8 0.2 2.6 0.3 1.9 0.2 2.2 0.3

2005 0.9 0.2 2.8 0.4 1.9 0.3 1.9 0.3

2006 1.2 0.3 2.6 0.4 2.7 0.3 2.2 0.3

2007 0.9 0.2 2.1 0.3 3.5 0.4 1.9 0.3

2008 0.7 0.2 2.1 0.3 2.8 0.3 1.1 0.2

2009 0.8 0.2 2.0 0.3 1.7 0.2 1.4 0.3

2010 0.9 0.2 1.9 0.3 1.7 0.2 1.8 0.3

2011 1.3 0.2 1.7 0.3 1.9 0.2 1.8 0.3

*Rate per 1,000 persons age 12 or older.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 1996–2011.

APPENDIX TABLE 15 

Rates and standard errors for figure 10: Nonfatal firearm violence, by urban-rural location, 1994–2011

Urban Suburban Rural

Year Rate* Standard error Rate* Standard error Rate* Standard error

1994 10.6 0.7 6.3 0.4 5.2 0.5

1995 10.1 0.6 5.5 0.4 3.6 0.4

1996 8.4 0.5 4.4 0.3 3.1 0.4

1997 7.3 0.5 3.9 0.3 3.6 0.4

1998 6.2 0.5 3.8 0.3 2.3 0.3

1999 5.3 0.5 3.1 0.3 1.0 0.2

2000 4.8 0.5 2.3 0.2 1.0 0.2

2001 4.4 0.4 2.0 0.2 1.4 0.3

2002 4.4 0.4 1.8 0.2 1.1 0.2

2003 3.7 0.4 1.7 0.2 0.9 0.2

2004 3.0 0.3 1.7 0.2 1.0 0.2

2005 3.4 0.4 1.5 0.2 1.1 0.3

2006 3.3 0.4 1.8 0.2 1.9 0.4

2007 2.6 0.3 2.3 0.2 1.9 0.3

2008 2.2 0.3 1.8 0.2 1.2 0.3

2009 2.6 0.3 1.1 0.2 0.9 0.2

2010 2.8 0.3 1.2 0.2 0.7 0.2

2011 2.5 0.3 1.4 0.2 1.2 0.2

*Rate per 1,000 persons age 12 or older.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 1993–2011.
FIREARM VIOLENCE, 1993-2011 | MAY 2013 25

APPENDIX TABLE 16 

 Rates and standard errors for table 5: Nonfatal firearm violence, by population size, 1997–2011

Not a place Under 100,000 100,000–249,999 250,000–499,999 500,000–999,999 1 million or more

Year Rate*

Standard 

error Rate*

Standard 

error Rate*

Standard 

error Rate*

Standard 

error Rate*

Standard 

error Rate*

Standard 

error

1997 3.9 0.4 3.8 0.3 7.0 0.9 10.3 1.3 7.3 1.3 7.3 1.0

1998 3.0 0.3 3.9 0.3 4.8 0.8 7.0 1.1 9.2 1.6 5.7 0.9

1999 1.9 0.3 3.1 0.3 3.1 0.6 5.5 1.0 9.0 1.6 6.4 1.0

2000 1.5 0.2 2.2 0.2 3.9 0.7 6.5 1.1 6.3 1.3 5.6 0.9

2001 1.4 0.2 2.1 0.2 4.1 0.7 6.1 1.1 5.5 1.2 5.1 0.9

2002 1.2 0.2 2.3 0.2 2.8 0.6 3.9 0.8 4.9 1.1 5.3 0.8

2003 1.4 0.2 2.0 0.2 2.8 0.5 3.3 0.7 5.1 1.1 3.6 0.7

2004 1.4 0.2 1.4 0.2 3.0 0.6 4.1 0.9 5.5 1.2 2.7 0.6

2005 1.2 0.2 1.6 0.2 2.9 0.6 3.6 0.9 4.5 1.2 4.6 0.9

2006 1.6 0.2 2.1 0.2 2.6 0.6 2.6 0.8 3.8 1.0 4.9 0.9

2007 1.5 0.2 2.6 0.3 2.7 0.5 2.4 0.7 5.4 1.1 2.1 0.5

2008 0.8 0.2 2.1 0.2 2.1 0.5 3.2 0.8 4.9 1.0 1.4 0.4

2009 0.9 0.2 1.1 0.2 2.2 0.5 3.0 0.8 4.0 1.0 3.5 0.7

2010 0.9 0.2 1.2 0.2 1.8 0.5 2.8 0.8 5.1 1.1 4.0 0.8

2011 1.4 0.2 1.2 0.2 1.3 0.3 3.9 0.8 4.6 0.9 3.2 0.6

*Rate per 1,000 persons age 12 or older.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 1996–2011.

APPENDIX TABLE 17 

Standard errors for table 6: Nonfatal firearm and nonfirearm violence, by victim-offender relationship, 2007–2011

Relationship 

to victim Total nonfatal violence

Firearm violence Nonfirearm violence

Number Percent of total violence Number Percent of total violence

Total 520,018 107,331 0.3% 495,683 0.4%

Nonstranger 351,653 56,980 0.3 341,349 0.4

Intimate 167,301 27,453 0.6 163,040 0.6

Other relative 105,593 24,480 1.1 100,985 1.2

Friend/acquaintance 247,394 39,620 0.4 240,775 0.5

Stranger 281,855 74,319 0.6 262,843 0.7

Unknown 126,046 34,768 1.1 118,113 1.2

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 2007–2011.
FIREARM VIOLENCE, 1993-2011 | MAY 2013 26

APPENDIX TABLE 18 

Standard errors for table 7: Nonfatal firearm and nonfirearm violence, by location of crime, 2007–2011

Total nonfatal violence Firearm violence Nonfirearm violence

Location Number Percent Total number Percent Total number Percent

Total 520,094 ~ 107,331 ~ 495,761 ~

Victims home or lodging 204,185 0.6% 42,032 1.6% 195,889 0.6%

Near victim’s home 170,118 0.5 46,062 1.8 159,113 0.5

In, at, or near a friend, neighbor, or relative’s home 106,117 0.3 22,283 1.0 102,275 0.3

Commercial place 125,178 0.4 27,429 1.2 120,070 0.4

Parking lot or garage 91,497 0.3 37,086 1.5 80,309 0.3

School 150,761 0.5 6,544 0.3 150,471 0.5

Open area, on street, or public transportation 166,506 0.5 46,260 1.8 155,261 0.5

Other location 128,572 0.4 18,853 0.8 126,101 0.4

~Not applicable. 

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 2007–2011.

APPENDIX TABLE 19 

Standard errors for table 9: Nonfatal firearm and nonfirearm violence, by injury and treatment received, 2007–2011

Total nonfatal violence Firearm violence Nonfirearm violence

Injury and treatment Number Percent Total number Percent Total number Percent

Injury 520,094 ~ 107,331 ~ 495,761 ~

Not injured 435,239 0.7% 92,106 1.8% 414,216 0.7%

Injured 221,742 0.6 46,376 1.8 212,304 0.6

Serious injuries 76,874 0.2 23,654 1.0 73,196 0.3

Gun shot 12,758 -- 12,758 0.6 ~ ~

Minor injuries 189,519 0.5 38,061 1.5 182,281 0.6

Rape without other injuries 39,058 0.1 4,232 0.2 38,750 0.1

Treatment for injury 221,742 ~ 46,376 ~ 212,304 ~

No treatment 159,205 1.3% 22,999 3.7% 156,054 1.3%

Any treatment 130,902 1.2 38,813 3.8 121,399 1.3

Treatment setting 130,902 ~ 38,813 ~ 121,399 ~

At the scene/home of victim, neighbor, or friend/

 other location 70,643 1.7% 15,653 3.8% 68,065 1.9%

In doctor’s office, hospital emergency room, 

 or overnight at hospital 101,753 1.8 34,730 3.8 92,599 1.9

--Less than 0.05%.

~Not applicable. 

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 2007–2011.
FIREARM VIOLENCE, 1993-2011 | MAY 2013 27

APPENDIX TABLE 20 

Numbers and standard errors for figure 11: Nonfatal firearm 

injuries, 2001–2011

Year Number Standard error

2001 41,044 10,287

2002 37,321 9,282

2003 42,505 11,558

2004 43,592 11,764

2005 50,320 14,431

2006 52,748 15,027

2007 48,676 ! 15,139

2008 56,626 16,648

2009 44,466 11,767

2010 53,738 15,769

2011 55,544 15,671

! Interpret with caution. Estimate based on fewer than 20 NEISS cases (based on 

unweighted data), national estimates less than 1,200 (based on weighted data), 

or the coefficient of variation (CV) of the estimate greater than 30%. 

Source: Consumer Product Safety Commission, National Electronic Injury 

Surveillance System All Injury Program (NEISS-AIP), 2001–2011, accessed from 

the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, CDC.

APPENDIX TABLE 21

Standard errors for table 10: Nonfatal firearm and nonfirearm violence reported and not reported to police, 2007–2011

Total nonfatal violence Firearm violence Nonfirearm violence

Total ~ ~ ~

Reported 0.7% 2.1% 0.7%

Not reported 0.7 2.1 0.8

Reason not reported ~ ~ ~

Dealt with it another way 0.9% 2.1% 0.9%

Not important enough to respondent 0.7 1.6 0.7

Police could not or would not do anything to help 0.7 3.0 0.7

Fear of reprisal 0.4 3.1 0.4

Did not want to get offender in trouble with law, or advised not to report 0.4 1.3 0.4

Other, unknown, or not one most important reason 0.7 2.6 0.7

~Not applicable. 

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 2007–2011.

APPENDIX TABLE 22 

Standard errors for table 11: Self-protective behaviors, by type of crime, 2007–2011

Violent crime Property crime

Self-protective behavior Total number Percent Total number Percent

Total 520,094 ~ 619,179 ~

Offered no resistance 312,558 0.7% 295,645 0.3%

Threatened or attacked with a firearm 30,347 0.1 24,437 --

Threatened or attacked with other weapon 40,012 0.1 14,630 --

Threatened or attacked without a weapon 205,362 0.6 51,411 0.1

Nonconfrontational tactics 227,856 0.6 90,178 0.1

Other reaction 90,004 0.3 36,683 --

Unknown reaction 12,068 -- 8,176 --

Victim was not present ~ ~ 641,196 0.4

~Not applicable. 

--Less than 0.05%.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 2007–2011.
Office of Justice Programs

Innovation • Partnerships • Safer Neighborhoods

www.ojp.usdoj.gov

The Bureau of Justice Statistics is the statistics agency of the U.S. Department of 

Justice. William J. Sabol is acting director.

This report was written by Michael Planty, PhD. and Jennifer L. Truman, PhD. 

Erica Smith, Tracy Snell, and Lauren Glaze provided statistical and technical 

assistance. Erika Harrell, Tracy Snell, Lauren Glaze, and Alexia Cooper verified the 

report.

Jill Thomas edited the report, and Tina Dorsey produced the report under the 

supervision of Doris J. James.

May 2013, NCJ 241730