More than 80 percent of these killings involve firearms. 4 Firearms also are a major cause of nonfatal injuries. For every firearm fatality, there are 2.6 nonfatal gunshot injuries. Suicide attempts with a firearm, on the other hand, are completed approximately 85 to 90 percent of the time. Some nonfatal firearm injuries are minor, but others are devastating.
Violence is the second leading cause of spinal cord injuries, behind motor vehicle crashes.
The vast majority of these injuries are the result of gunshot wounds. 7 Health care professionals have traditionally used reactive approaches to control death and disability from gunshot wounds. There is a limit, however, to the power of medicine and surgical techniques. Recently, researchers conducted a population-based study of firearm injuries in three cities served by sophisticated emergency services and level1 trauma centers. They found that 80 percent of fatalities were pronounced dead on the scene or immediately following arrival in an emergency department.