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Surveillance for Violent Deaths --- National Violent Death Reporting System, 16 States, 2007

Debra L. Karch, PhD

Linda L. Dahlberg, PhD

Nimesh Patel, MS

Division of Violence Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, CDC


Corresponding Author: Debra L. Karch, PhD, Division of Violence Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, CDC, 4770 Buford Hwy, N.E., MS F-64, Atlanta, GA, 30341-3724. Telephone: 770-488-1307; Fax: 770-488-4222; E-mail: dkarch@cdc.gov.

Abstract

Problem/Condition: An estimated 50,000 persons die annually in the United States as a result of violence-related injuries. This report summarizes data from CDC's National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) regarding violent deaths from 16 states for 2007. Results are reported by sex, age group, race/ethnicity, marital status, location of injury, method of injury, circumstances of injury, and other selected characteristics.

Reporting Period Covered: 2007.

Description of System: NVDRS collects data regarding violent deaths obtained from death certificates, coroner/medical examiner reports, and law enforcement reports. NVDRS began operation in 2003 with seven states (Alaska, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon, South Carolina, and Virginia) participating; six states (Colorado, Georgia, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin) joined in 2004, four (California, Kentucky, New Mexico, and Utah) in 2005, and two states (Ohio and Michigan) were funded to begin data collection in 2010, totaling 19 states. This report includes data from 16 states that collected statewide data in 2007. California data are not included in this report because NVDRS data are collected only in a limited number of California cities and counties rather than statewide. Ohio and Michigan are excluded because they did not begin data collection until 2010.

Results: For 2007, a total of 15,882 fatal incidents involving 16,319 deaths occurred in the 16 NVDRS states included in this report. The majority (56.6%) of deaths was suicides, followed by homicides and deaths involving legal intervention (i.e., deaths caused by police and other persons with legal authority to use deadly force, excluding legal executions) (28.0%), deaths of undetermined intent (14.7%), and unintentional firearm deaths (0.7%). Suicides occurred at higher rates among males, American Indians/Alaska Natives, non-Hispanic whites, and persons aged 45--54 years. Suicides occurred most often in a house or apartment and involved the use of firearms. Suicides were precipitated primarily by mental-health, intimate-partner, or physical-health problems, or by a crisis during the preceding 2 weeks. Homicides occurred at higher rates among males and persons aged 20--24 years; rates were highest among non-Hispanic black males. The majority of homicides involved the use of a firearm and occurred in a house or apartment or on a street/highway. Homicides were precipitated primarily by arguments and interpersonal conflicts or in conjunction with another crime. Other manners of death and special situations or populations also are highlighted in this report.

Interpretation: This report provides a detailed summary of data from NVDRS for 2007. The results indicate that violent deaths resulting from self-inflicted or interpersonal violence disproportionately affected adults aged <55 years, males, and certain minority populations. For homicides and suicides, relationship problems, interpersonal conflicts, mental-health problems, and recent crises were among the primary precipitating factors. Because additional information might be reported subsequently as participating states update their findings, the data provided in this report are preliminary.

Public Health Action: For the occurrence of violent deaths in the United States to be better understood and ultimately prevented, accurate, timely, and comprehensive surveillance data are necessary. NVDRS data can be used to monitor the occurrence of violence-related fatal injuries and assist public health authorities in the development, implementation, and evaluation of programs and policies to reduce and prevent violent deaths at the national, state, and local levels. The continued development and expansion of NVDRS is essential to CDC's efforts to reduce the personal, familial, and societal costs of violence. Further efforts are needed to increase the number of states participating in NVDRS, with an ultimate goal of full national representation.

Introduction

An estimated 50,000 persons die annually in the United States from violence-related injuries. Homicide is the second leading cause of death for persons aged 15--24 years, the third leading cause for persons aged 10--14 and 25--34 years, and the fourth leading cause for persons aged 1--9 years. Suicide is the second leading cause of death for persons aged 25--34 years, the third leading cause for persons aged 15--24 years, and the fourth leading cause for persons aged 10--14 and 35--44 years. Only unintentional injury in those aged 1--34 years and malignant neoplasms and congenital anomalies in children aged 1--14 years were more common (1).

Public health authorities require accurate, timely, and comprehensive surveillance data to better understand and ultimately prevent the occurrence of violent deaths in the United States (2). In 2000, CDC started planning to implement the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) (3,4). The goals of this system are to:

  • collect and analyze timely, high-quality data that monitor the magnitude and characteristics of violent death at the national, state, and local levels;
  • ensure that data are disseminated routinely and expeditiously to public health officials, law enforcement officials, policy makers, and the public;
  • ensure that data are used to develop, implement, and evaluate programs and policies that are intended to reduce and prevent violent deaths and injuries at the national, state, and local levels; and
  • build and strengthen partnerships among organizations and communities at the national, state, and local levels to ensure that data are collected and used to reduce and prevent violent deaths and injuries.

NVDRS was conceived as a state-based active surveillance system that would collect risk-factor data concerning all violence-related deaths, including homicides, suicides, and legal intervention deaths (i.e., deaths caused by police and other persons with legal authority to use deadly force, excluding legal executions) as well as unintentional firearm deaths and deaths of undetermined intent. NVDRS data are used to assist the development, implementation, and evaluation of programs and policies designed to reduce and prevent these deaths and injuries at the national, state, and local levels.

Before implementation of NVDRS, single data sources (e.g., death certificates or supplemental homicide reports) provided limited information and circumstances from which to understand patterns of deaths collected by this system. NVDRS fills this gap in national surveillance; it is the first system to provide detailed information on circumstances precipitating violent deaths, the first to link multiple source documents to enable researchers to understand each death more completely, and the first to link multiple deaths that are related to one another (e.g., multiple homicides, suicide pacts, and cases of homicide followed by the suicide of the suspected perpetrator).

NVDRS began operation in 2003 with seven states (Alaska, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon, South Carolina, and Virginia) participating; six states (Colorado, Georgia, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin) joined in 2004, four (California, Kentucky, New Mexico, and Utah) in 2005, and two states (Ohio and Michigan) were funded to begin data collection in 2010, totaling 19 states (Figure). CDC provides funding for state participation and anticipates that NVDRS will expand to include all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories.

This report summarizes data for 2007 concerning deaths meeting NVDRS inclusion criteria from 16 states that collected statewide data (approximately 26% of the U.S. population). California data are not included in this report because NVDRS data are collected only in a limited number of California cities and counties rather than statewide. Ohio and Michigan were excluded because they did not begin data collection until 2010. Because additional information might be reported subsequently as participating states update their findings, the data provided in this report are preliminary. Annual updates of NVDRS data also are available through a web-based query system at http://wisqars.cdc.gov:8080/nvdrs/nvdrsDisplay.jsp.

Methods

NVDRS uses multiple, complementary data sources including death certificates, coroner/medical examiner (CME) records, and law enforcement reports. Some participating states use secondary sources (e.g., child fatality review team data, supplementary homicide reports, hospital data, and crime laboratory data). Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives traces information concerning firearms. NVDRS links together multiple documents for each violent death and also links multiple deaths that are related to each other (e.g., multiple homicides, a homicide followed by a suicide, or multiple suicides) into a single incident. The ability to analyze data linked in this way permits a comprehensive assessment of violent deaths.

NVDRS defines a violent death as a death resulting either from the intentional use of physical force or power against oneself, another person, or a group or community. In addition, NVDRS collects information regarding unintentional firearm injury deaths (i.e., incidents in which the person causing the injury did not intend to discharge the firearm) and deaths of undetermined intent. NVDRS case definitions are coded on the basis of the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision (ICD-10) (5). Cases with selected ICD-10 codes are included in NVDRS (Box 1). ICD-10 case finding is completed by participating states.

Variables analyzed in NVDRS include the following:

  • manner of death (i.e., the intent of the person inflicting a fatal injury);
  • mechanism of injury (i.e., the method used to inflict a fatal injury);
  • circumstances preceding injury (i.e., the precipitating events that led to the infliction of a fatal injury);
  • whether the decedent was a victim (i.e., a person who died because of a violence-related injury);
  • whether the decedent was a suspect (i.e., a person believed to have inflicted a fatal injury on a victim);
  • whether the decedent was both a suspect and a victim (i.e., a person believed to have inflicted a fatal injury on a victim and then was fatally injured himself or herself);
  • incident (i.e., an occurrence in which one or more persons sustained a fatal injury that was linked to a common event during a 24-hour period); and
  • type of incident (i.e., a combination of the manner of death and the number of victims in an incident).

NVDRS is incident-based, and all decedents (both victims and alleged perpetrators [suspects]) associated with a given incident are grouped in one record. Decisions about whether two or more deaths belong to the same incident are made on the basis of the timing of the injuries rather than on that of the deaths. Examples of a violent death incident include 1) a single isolated violent death, 2) two or more related homicides (including legal interventions) when the fatal injuries were inflicted <24 hours apart, 3) two or more related suicides or deaths of undetermined intent when the fatal injuries were inflicted <24 hours apart, and 4) a homicide followed by a related suicide when both fatal injuries were inflicted <24 hours apart.

Data are obtained from individual information sources and entered into source-specific computerized data entry screens (i.e., police report data are entered into police report screens and death certificate data into death certificate screens). In addition to allowing independent entry of each source, this approach permits later review of what each source contributed and identification of missing sources. This permits comparisons of the quality and completeness of state-specific data sources and allows states to provide feedback to sources regarding the consistency of their data compared with data from other sources. In addition, the system permits automatic electronic importation of specific data sources without requiring manual entry.

Abstraction of identical variables across multiple source documents can result in data inconsistencies, which NVDRS resolves by assigning a primacy (i.e., hierarchical) rule for each variable. The primacy rules are applied to create a final analysis data set that uses data from all available sources. For each variable in NVDRS, primacy is established on the basis of a hierarchy of assumed reliability of all the sources for a single variable. For example, sex is collected in all three required documents (death certificate, CME record, and police report). The primacy for sex is expressed as death certificate/CME record/police report, which means the analysis file is constructed using the sex recorded in the death certificate; if this is left blank or is unknown, the sex recorded in the CME record is used; and if the CME record does not provide the sex or lists the sex as unknown, the police report is used.

Manner of Death

A manner (i.e., intent) of death for each decedent is assigned by a trained abstractor who takes into account information from all source documents. Typically, these documents are consistent regarding the manner of death, and the abstractor-assigned manner of death corresponds to that reported in all the source documents. On rare occasions, when a discrepancy exists among the source documents, the abstractor must assign a manner of death on the basis of the preponderance of evidence in the source documents. For example, if two sources classify a death as a suicide and a third classifies it as undetermined, the death will be coded as a suicide.

NVDRS classifies data using one of five abstractor-assigned manners of death:

  • Suicide. Suicide is defined as a death resulting from the use of force against oneself when a preponderance of the evidence indicates that the use of force was intentional. This category includes deaths of persons who intended only to injure rather than kill themselves, deaths associated with risk taking behavior without clear intent to inflict fatal injury but associated with high risk of death (e.g., Russian roulette) and suicides involving only passive assistance to the decedent (e.g., supplying the means or information needed to complete the act). The category does not include deaths caused by chronic or acute substance abuse without the intent to die or deaths attributed to autoerotic behavior (e.g., self-strangulation during sexual activity). Corresponding ICD-10 codes included in NVDRS are X60--X84 and Y87.0.
  • Homicide. Homicide is defined as a death resulting from the use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against another person, group, or community when a preponderance of evidence indicates that the use of force was intentional. Two special scenarios that the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) regards as homicides are included in the NVDRS definition: 1) arson with no intent to injure a person and 2) a stabbing with intent unspecified. This category excludes vehicular homicide without intent to injure, unintentional firearm deaths (a separate category listed below), combat deaths or acts of war, and deaths of unborn fetuses. Corresponding ICD-10 codes included in NVDRS are X85--X99, Y00--Y09, and Y87.1.
  • Unintentional firearm. The term "unintentional firearm death" is used when a death results from a penetrating injury or gunshot wound from a weapon that uses a powder charge to fire a projectile and for which a preponderance of evidence indicates that the shooting was not directed intentionally at the decedent. Examples of deaths included in this category include the death of a person as a result of celebratory firing that was not intended to frighten, control, or harm anyone; a soldier shot during a field exercise but not in a combat situation; and a person who received a self-inflicted wound while playing with a firearm. This category excludes firearm injuries caused by unintentionally striking a person with the firearm (e.g., hitting a person on the head with the firearm rather than firing a projectile) and unintentional injuries from nonpowder guns (e.g., BB, pellet, or other compressed air- or gas-powered guns). Corresponding ICD-10 codes included in NVDRS are W32--W34 and Y86 with a method of firearm.
  • Undetermined intent. The term "undetermined intent" is used when a death results from the use of force or power against oneself or another person for which the evidence indicating one manner of death is no more compelling than evidence indicating another. This category includes CME rulings (e.g., accident or suicide, undetermined, jumped or fell, self-inflicted injuries) when records give no evidence or opinions in favor of either unintentional or intentional injury. Corresponding ICD-10 codes included in NVDRS are Y10--Y34, Y87.2, and Y89.9.
  • Legal intervention. The term "legal intervention" is used when a decedent is killed by a police officer or other peace officer (a person with specified legal authority to use deadly force), including military police, acting in the line of duty. This category excludes legal executions. Corresponding ICD-10 codes included in NVDRS are Y35.0--Y35.4, Y35.6, Y35.7, and Y89.0.

Comparability of NVDRS Surveillance Summary Data Prior to 2006

Four changes were made to how variables were reported between 2005 and 2006 that affect their comparability; no variable changes were made between 2006 and 2007. The 2005 to 2006 changes involve race/ethnicity, location of injury, relationship of victim to suspect, and method of injury. In 2005, the race variable was reported in six categories (white, black, Asian Pacific Islander [API], American Indian/Alaska Native [AI/AN], other, and unknown). Ethnicity was categorized separately as persons of any race that reported Hispanic origin. When this methodology was used, Hispanics were reported both within their race category and then again separately by ethnicity. The 2006 and 2007 methodology classifies each person as non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic black, API, AI/AN, Hispanic, other, and unknown. Race and ethnicity are combined in one variable. This change allows for better comparability with other violence-related data.

Location of injury is coded from a list of 31 location options in NVDRS. Because certain options are selected rarely, certain response categories have been combined. In 2006 and 2007, the category "bank" was included in "office building" rather than in "commercial/retail area" as it was in 2005. Also in 2006 and 2007, the category "synagogue/church/temple" was subsumed under "other" and not reported separately as in 2005.

Relationship of the victim to the suspect includes a new category, "other intimate-partner involvement," to refer to a death that is intimate-partner--related but that does not occur between the intimate partners themselves (e.g., when a child is killed by a parent's partner). In addition, the categories "rival gang member" and "victim was injured by a law enforcement officer" are reported in 2006 and 2007 as separate categories; in 2005, these categories were included in "other specified relationship." The categories "foster child" and "foster parent" also were moved from "other relative" to "child" and "parent," respectively.

Four new categories were added to method of injury in 2006 and 2007: "firearm and poisoning," "firearm and other method type," "poisoning and other method type," and "other combination of methods." All deaths in these new categories involved more than one method, and the evidence did not indicate which method caused the fatal injury. For example, a homicide victim might have injuries from both a firearm and a sharp instrument, but the method that actually caused the fatal injury might be unclear. In this case, the method of injury would be categorized as "firearm and other method."

Variables Analyzed

NVDRS collects approximately 250 unique variables (available at http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/nvdrs). The number of variables recorded for each incident depends on the content and completeness of the source documents. Variables include manner of death, demographics, ICD-10 and underlying cause-of-death codes and text, location and date/time of injury and death, toxicology results, bodily injuries, precipitating circumstances, decedent-suspect relationship, and method of injury (Boxes 2 and 3).

Circumstances Preceding Death

The circumstances preceding death are defined as the precipitating events that led to the infliction of a fatal injury (Box 3). The circumstances that preceded a fatal injury are reported on the basis of the content of the CME record and police reports. Different sets of circumstances are coded for suicide/undetermined deaths, homicide/legal-intervention deaths, and unintentional firearm deaths. The variable "circumstances known" is a gateway variable to a list of potential circumstances. Each incident requires the data abstractor to code all circumstances in cases for which the circumstances are known. If circumstances are not known (e.g., for a body found in the woods with no other detail) the data abstractor leaves the gateway variable blank, and these cases are excluded from the denominator for circumstance values. If either the CME record or the police report indicates that the circumstance is reported to be true, then the abstractor enters data as confirmed (e.g., if the police report indicated that a decedent had disclosed an intent to commit suicide, then suicidal intent is accepted to be true).

Coding Training and Quality Control

Coding training is held annually for all participating states. Ongoing coding support is provided through an e-mail help desk, monthly conference calls with all states, and regular conference calls with individual states. A coding manual is provided. Software features enhance coding reliability, including automated validation rules and a hover-over feature containing variable-specific information. Details regarding NVDRS procedures and coding are available at http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/nvdrs/publications.htm.

States are requested to perform blind reabstraction of cases using multiple abstractors to identify inconsistencies. CDC also runs a quality-control analysis in which multiple variables are reviewed for their appropriateness, with special focus on abstractor-assigned variables (e.g., method selection and manner of death). If CDC questions any variable, CDC notifies the state for a response or correction.

Time Frame

States are required to report all deaths within 6 months of the end of each calendar year for the preceding January--December time frame. States then have an additional 12 months to complete each incident record. Although states typically meet these timelines, additional details sometimes arrive after a deadline has passed. New incidents also might be identified after the deadline (e.g., if a death certificate is revised, new evidence is obtained that changes a manner of death, or a miscoded ICD-10 is corrected to meet NVDRS inclusion criteria). These additional data are incorporated into NVDRS. Analysis files are updated monthly at CDC. On the basis of previous experience, CDC estimates that case counts might increase 1%--2% after the initial 18-month data collection period.

Fatal Injuries During 2007

This report provides preliminary data concerning fatal injuries meeting the NVDRS case definition in 2007 for 16 participating states that were received by CDC as of August 31, 2009. Data from California were not included in this report because NVDRS was implemented only in a limited number of cities and counties rather than statewide. Participating states used vital statistics death certificate files to identify deaths meeting NVDRS case definitions. Each state reported all deaths of their residents that occurred within the state and deaths of state residents that occurred elsewhere. Once a death was identified, NVDRS data abstractors linked source documents, linked deaths within each incident, coded data elements, and wrote a short narrative of the incident. These narratives were reviewed for all incidents in which coded data were unclear or incomplete. State-level data then were consolidated and analyzed for this aggregate report. Numbers, percentages, and crude rates are presented in aggregate for all deaths by abstractor-assigned manner of death and for special situations and populations (e.g., homicide followed by suicide, suicides of former or current military personnel, and intimate-partner--related homicides). Rates for cells with a frequency of <20 are not reported because of the instability of those rates. In addition, rates could not be calculated for variables (e.g., marital status, precipitating circumstances) because denominators were unknown. Bridged-race 2007 population estimates were used as denominators in the rate calculations (6). For compatible numerators for rate calculations to be derived, person records listing multiple races were recoded to a single race when possible, using a bridging algorithm provided by NCHS (available at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/bridged_race.htm).

Results

All Deaths

Deaths by Manner, Method, and Location

The 16 NVDRS states included in this report collected data concerning 15,882 incidents and 16,319 deaths that occurred during 2007. The crude death rate was 19.9 deaths per 100,000 population. Suicides (n = 9,245) accounted for the highest rate of violent death (11.6 per 100,000 population) followed by homicide/legal-intervention (n = 4,563) deaths (5.7 per 100,000 population). Deaths of undetermined intent (n = 2,403) and unintentional firearm deaths (n = 107) occurred at lower rates (3.0 and 0.1 per 100,000 population, respectively). Of all incidents occurring in 2007 in the 16 states included in this report, 2.2% were known to have multiple victims. Firearms accounted for 48.2% of injury deaths, poisoning for 20.4%, and hanging/strangulation/suffocation for 14.2% (rates: 9.9, 4.2, and 2.9 per 100,000 population, respectively); rates for other methods were lower. For all deaths, a house or apartment was the most common location (69.9%). The next-most-common location of injury (8.2%) was a street or highway (Table 1).

Toxicology Results of Decedent

Tests for alcohol were conducted for 73.8% of decedents, and drug tests for amphetamines, antidepressants, cocaine, marijuana, and opiates were conducted for 52.5%, 43.2%, 55.8%, 36.5%, and 54.1% of decedents, respectively. Among decedents who tested positive for alcohol (33.4%), 59.1% had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of >0.08 g/dL (the legal limit in the majority of states). Opiates, including heroin and prescription pain killers, were identified in 26.2% of cases tested for these substances (antidepressants [23.5%], cocaine [13.5%], marijuana [11.1%], and amphetamines [4.6%]) (Table 2).

Suicides

Sex, Race/Ethnicity, Age Group, and Marital Status

The 16 NVDRS states included in this report collected data concerning 9,233 fatal suicide incidents and 9,245 suicides that occurred during 2007. Rates of suicide by month showed little variation throughout the year (range: 0.8--1.1 per 100,000 population) (Table 3). Overall, the crude suicide rate was 11.6 per 100,000 population. The rate for males was more than three times that for females (18.4 and 5.0 per 100,000 population, respectively). Non-Hispanic whites accounted for the largest number of suicide deaths, and AI/ANs and non-Hispanic whites had the highest rates of suicide (18.2 and 14.0 per 100,000 population, respectively). The highest rates of suicide by age group occurred among persons aged 45--54 years, 75--84 years, and 35--44 years (17.6, 16.4, and 16.3 per 100,000 population, respectively). Children aged 10--14 years had the lowest rates of suicide among all age groups (0.8 per 100,000 population). Rates of suicide among adolescents aged 15--19 years (6.9 per 100,000 population) were approximately half of those for persons aged ≥30 years (Table 4).

Decedents aged 35--64 years accounted for 55.0% of suicide deaths among males. Rates among males were highest for those aged ≥85 years followed by those aged 75--84 years (43.9 and 35.8 per 100,000 population, respectively). AI/AN males had the highest rates of any racial/ethnic population and had rates that were more than four times the rate for API males. Among females, decedents aged 35--64 years accounted for 65.0% of suicides. Rates for females peaked at 9.0 per 100,000 among those aged 45--54 years. As with males, female suicide rates were highest among AI/ANs (7.3) followed closely by non-Hispanic whites (6.2). Among females, the lowest rates of suicide were among non-Hispanic blacks (1.5) and Hispanics (1.7). Of all decedents aged ≥18 years for which marital status was known, 38.7% were married, 29.3% had never married, and 22.1% were divorced at the time of death (Table 4).

Method and Location of Injury

Firearms were used in the majority (50.7%) of suicide deaths, followed by hanging/strangulation/suffocation (23.1%) and poisoning (18.8%) (Table 5). The most common method used by male suicide decedents was a firearm (56.0%) followed by hanging/strangulation/suffocation (24.4%). Among females, poisons were used most often (40.8%) followed by firearms (31.9%). The most common place of self-inflicted injury was a house or apartment (77.2%) followed by natural areas (4.4%), and streets or highways (3.0%). A total of 120 (1.3%) suicides occurred in a jail or prison setting (115 males and 5 females) (Table 5).

Toxicology Results of Decedent and Precipitating Circumstances

Tests for alcohol were conducted for 68.9% of suicide decedents, and drug tests for amphetamines, antidepressants, cocaine, marijuana, and opiates were conducted for 44.2%, 39.8%, 47.2%, 35.7%, and 47.1% of suicide decedents, respectively. Among suicide decedents who tested positive for alcohol (34.5%), 62.0% had a BAC of >0.08 g/dL. Opiates (e.g., heroin, prescription pain killers) were identified in 22.8% of cases tested for these substances; cocaine and marijuana were identified in 8.9% and 7.5% of tested cases, respectively. Of suicide decedents who were tested for antidepressants, 30.0% were positive at the time of their death (Table 6).

Precipitating circumstances were known for approximately 86% of suicide decedents. Overall, mental-health problems were the most commonly noted circumstance for suicide decedents with 41.5% described as experiencing a depressed mood at the time of their deaths. Nearly 45% were described as having a mental-health problem although only 33.8% were receiving treatment (Table 7). Among those with a current mental-health problem, 74.9% had received a diagnosis of depression/dysthymia, 14.5% had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and 8.1% with an anxiety disorder (Table 8). Among suicide decedents with known circumstance information, 19.9% had a history of previous suicide attempts, 28.0% disclosed their intent prior to dying, and 33.3% left a suicide note (Table 7). Other than mental health conditions, circumstances noted most often were a crisis in the preceding 2 weeks or intimate-partner problems, each indicated in approximately 30% of suicides with known circumstance information. Physical-health problems also were noted in 21.4% of cases with circumstance information.

Similar percentages of male and female suicide decedents were observed to have a depressed mood at the time of death; however, a higher percentage of females than males had a current mental-health problem (62.9% and 39.6%, respectively) or were being treated for a mental-health problem (50.6% and 28.8%, respectively). Approximately the same percentage of male and female suicide decedents experienced physical-health problems in the period before their deaths, although a higher percentage of males than females had job, financial, or criminal problems in the period preceding their deaths. Intimate-partner problems also were cited as a precipitating factor in a higher percentage of male suicides than female suicides (31.7% and 26.4%, respectively). Although occurring in only a limited percentage of cases, being a perpetrator of interpersonal violence in the month before death was more common among male suicide decedents (5.6%) than being a victim of such violence (0.2%) whereas the proportions were similar for females (1.6% and 1.1%, respectively) (Table 7).

Homicides

Sex, Race/Ethnicity, Age Group, Marital Status

The 16 NVDRS states included in this report collected data concerning 4,324 homicide incidents and 4,563 homicides that occurred during 2007. Overall, the crude homicide rate was 5.7 deaths per 100,000 population in 2007. Rates of homicide by month showed little variation throughout the year (range: 0.4--0.6 per 100,000 population) (Table 9).

The majority (53.0%) of homicide decedents aged ≥18 years for which marital status was known had never been married, and 22.7% were married at the time of their death. In 41.2% of homicides, the relation of the victim to the suspect was not known. When a suspect was identified, the suspect most often was an acquaintance or friend (15.7%), a spouse or intimate partner (10.5%), or a stranger (8.4%). Perpetrators were other relatives of the decedent in <10% of cases with known information about the relation of the victim to the suspect (Table 10).

The homicide rate for males was approximately 3.6 times that for females (9.0 and 2.5 per 100,000 population, respectively). Non-Hispanic blacks accounted for the majority (52.0%) of homicide deaths and had the highest rate (19.3 deaths per 100,000 population) followed by AI/ANs (10.5) and Hispanics (7.2). Age-specific homicide rates were highest (14.7 deaths per 100,000 population) among those aged 20--24 years followed by those aged 25--29 years (12.4 deaths per 100,000 population). The rate for infants aged <1 year was more than four times that for children aged 1--4 years (9.7 and 2.2 per 100,000 population, respectively) and similar to that for adolescents aged 15--19 years (9.5 per 100,000 population). Rates were lowest among children aged 5--14 years and persons aged ≥65 years. The majority (62.3%) of male homicide decedents were aged 20--44 years; males aged 20--24 years had the highest rates of homicide (24.5 per 100,000 population). For females, homicide rates were highest (8.2 deaths per 100,000 population) among infants aged <1 year (Table 11).

Method and Location of Injury

Firearms were used in 66.1% of homicides, followed by sharp instruments (12.1%) and blunt instruments (5.8%). No other single method was used in more than 3.4% of homicides (Table 9). Firearms were the most common method used in homicides of males (71.7%) and females (46.4%). Hanging/strangulation/suffocation was over six times more common among female homicide decedents than among males (8.6% and 1.4%, respectively). A house or apartment was the most common location of homicide for both males and females (44.7% and 72.6%, respectively). The next-most common location of homicide for males was a street or highway (26.0%), a parking lot or public garage (5.4%), and a motor vehicle (4.0%); for females, the next-most common locations were a street or highway (6.8%), or a commercial/retail or natural area (2.7% each) (Table 12).

Toxicology Results of Decedent and Precipitating Circumstances

Tests for alcohol were conducted for 77.9% of homicide decedents, and drug tests for amphetamines, antidepressants, cocaine, marijuana, and opiates were conducted for 54.4%, 34.8%, 58.8%, 33.8%, and 52.4% of homicide decedents, respectively. Among homicide decedents who tested positive for alcohol (34.6%), 55.4% had a BAC of >0.08 g/dL. Marijuana, cocaine, and opiates were identified in 20.0%, 15.7%, and 6.8% of homicide decedents tested, respectively (Table 13).

Precipitating circumstances were identified for 64.9% of homicide deaths. Approximately one third of those homicides were precipitated by another crime. In 76.0% of cases precipitated by another crime, the crime was in progress at the time of the incident (Table 14). The crime was most often robbery (37.4%), followed by assault (23.3%), burglary (9.3%), drug-related (8.2%), rape/sexual assault (3.3%), or motor-vehicle theft (3.0%) (Table 15). Other common precipitating circumstances were an argument, abuse, or conflict over something other than money or property (37.5%); drug-related circumstances (13.3%); justifiable self defense (8.0%); or an argument about money or property (5.4%). In 20.4% of cases with known circumstance information, intimate-partner violence was identified as a contributing factor. In approximately 1% of the cases, the decedent was a police officer killed in the line of duty or an intervening person assisting a crime victim (Table 14).

An argument, abuse, or a conflict unrelated to money or property was a factor in more homicides among males than females (41.9% and 24.5%, respectively). Drug-related homicides accounted for 15.0% of male homicides and 8.2% of female homicides. Intimate-partner violence was a precipitating factor in 52.5% of female homicides but only 9.5% of male homicides. In 13.7% of male homicides with known circumstance information, the decedent also used a weapon during the altercation, compared with 1.9% of female homicides (Table 14).

Deaths of Undetermined Intent

Sex, Race/Ethnicity, Age Group, Education, and Marital Status

The 16 NVDRS states included in this report collected data concerning 2,392 incidents involving 2,403 deaths during 2007 for which a determination of intent could not be made. Rates of undetermined death by month were at 0.2 or 0.3 per 100,000 population throughout the year (Table 16). Overall, the crude rate for undetermined deaths was 3.0 per 100,000 population. Rates of undetermined death were higher among males than females (3.8 and 2.3 per 100,000 population, respectively). Although non-Hispanic whites accounted for 71.5% of undetermined deaths, rates were highest among AI/ANs (6.1 per 100,000 population). Nearly half (49.1%) of decedents for whom the manner of death was undetermined were aged 35--54 years. Rates were highest (22.0 per 100,000 population) among infants aged <1 year. Among decedents aged >18 years with an undetermined manner of death for which marital status was known, 39.3% had never been married, 27.9% were married, and 24.3% were divorced at the time of death. AI/AN males had the highest rates (7.5 per 100,000 population) of undetermined death compared with males or females of any other racial/ethnic population (Table 17).

Method and Location of Injury

The most common method of injury was poisoning (65.0%). No other known single method accounted for >2.7% of undetermined deaths. Among both males and females for which the method of injury was known, poisoning was reported for 63.6% and 67.4% of deaths, respectively. The majority of undetermined deaths occurred in a house or apartment, making it the most common place of injury for both males and females (75.1% and 82.6%, respectively). A natural area was the second most common setting, accounting for 3.6% of deaths among males and 2.5% among females (Table 18).

Toxicology Results of Decedent and Precipitating Circumstances

Tests for alcohol were conducted for 85.4% of decedents of undetermined intent, and drug tests for amphetamines, antidepressants, cocaine, marijuana, and opiates were conducted for 80.8%, 72.4%, 83.4%, 44.8%, and 84.9% of decedents, respectively. Among decedents who tested positive for alcohol (28.2%), 55.2% had a BAC of >0.08 g/dL. Among decedents tested for opiates, 56.6% were positive; of those tested for cocaine, 21.1% were positive; of those tested for marijuana, 9.4% were positive; and of those tested for antidepressants, 27.8% were positive (Table 19).

Precipitating circumstances were known in approximately 73% of deaths of undetermined intent. Of those, 28.7% of decedents had a problem with alcohol, and 62.4% had other substance-abuse problems (e.g., illicit drug or prescription abuse). Although a current depressed mood was reported for only 13.0% of decedents, 39.0% of decedents with known circumstance information had a current mental-health problem, 31.7% were receiving treatment at the time of their death, 10.5% had a history of suicide attempts, 7.2% had disclosed an intent to commit suicide, and 1.6% left a suicide note. Other circumstances noted most often were physical-health problems (29.0%), a crisis during the preceding 2 weeks (15.0%), or an intimate-partner problem (10.8%) (Table 20). Of those with a current mental-health problem, 61.2% had received a diagnosis of depression/dysthymia, 16.0% of bipolar disorder, and 12.5% of an anxiety disorder (Table 21).

A greater percentage of male than female decedents were reported to have an alcohol problem (33.1% and 21.6%, respectively) or other substance-abuse problems (65.1% and 57.9%, respectively) at the time of death. Mental-health problems were reported in a higher percentage of undetermined deaths of females than of males (52.0% and 30.9%, respectively), and a higher percentage of females were receiving treatment for a mental-health problem than males (44.6% and 23.7%, respectively) and had a history of suicide attempts (13.8% and 8.4%, respectively) (Table 20).

Unintentional Firearm Deaths

Sex, Race/Ethnicity, Age Group, and Seasonality

The 16 NVDRS states included in this report collected data concerning 107 unintentional firearm deaths during 2007. Males accounted for 90.7% of decedents. The majority (68.2%) were non-Hispanic whites, followed by non-Hispanic blacks (22.4%). Approximately 20% of unintentional firearm fatalities occurred among persons aged 15--19 years. November had the highest percentage of unintentional firearm deaths (17.8%) at nearly twice the frequency of any other month (Table 22).

Location of Injury

Approximately 64.5% of all unintentional firearm fatalities took place in a house or apartment, making it the most common place of injury for both males and females, followed by natural areas (16.8%) (Table 22).

Context of the Injury and Associated Circumstances

Overall, unintentional firearm injury deaths occurred more commonly while victims were playing with a gun (29.9%), hunting (24.7%), showing a gun to others (14.3%), or loading or unloading a gun (10.4%). The circumstances of injury included thinking that a gun was unloaded, unintentionally pulling the trigger, and experiencing a gun malfunction (26.0%, 19.5%, and 5.2%, respectively) (Table 23).

Special Topics

Violent Deaths with Multiple Decedents

The 16 NVDRS states included in this report collected data on 347 incidents that resulted in multiple decedents. Firearms were the most common method (73.7%) used in incidents with multiple decedents, followed by poisonings (5.7%), sharp instruments or hanging/strangulation/suffocation (5.2% each), and blunt instruments (3.3%) (Table 24). Of a total of 784 victims, 461 (58.8%) were males; 334 (90.8%) of 368 suspects also were males. Non-Hispanic whites accounted for the highest percentage of decedents (57.0%), followed by non-Hispanic blacks (26.5%) and Hispanics (10.5%). Rates for decedents were highest for non-Hispanic blacks and persons aged 15--54 years. Suspects most commonly were aged 20--54 years (Table 25).

Homicide Followed by Suicide

The 16 NVDRS states included in this report collected data concerning 172 violent incidents that occurred during 2007 in which a homicide was followed by the suicide of the suspect. Of 240 homicide decedents, 174 (72.5%) were female and 160 (93.0%) suspects (suicide decedents) were male. Homicide rates were similar (0.3 per 100,000) among racial/ethnic groups which had results reported; 70.4% of homicide decedents were non-Hispanic whites. Among suspects who killed themselves after committing homicide, 66.9% were non-Hispanic whites and 15.7% were non-Hispanic blacks. The highest percentages of both homicide and suicide decedents were aged 35--54 years (31.7% and 49.4%, respectively) (Table 26).

The majority of homicide decedents and suspects (34.7% and 32.4%, respectively) were married at the time of death (not necessarily to each other) (Table 26). With respect to location, 75.4% of the homicides occurred in a house or apartment and 2.1% each in a street/highway or commercial/retail area. Firearms were the most common (approximately 80%) method used by suspects both in committing the homicide and in subsequently killing themselves (Table 27).

Tests for alcohol were conducted for 79.6% of homicide decedents and 72.7% of suicide decedents. Among decedents who tested positive for alcohol (18.3% of homicide victims; 32.8% of suicide decedents), 48.6% of homicide decedents and 53.7% of suicide decedents had a BAC of >0.08 g/dL at the time of death. Suspects who killed themselves following a homicide and who were tested subsequently for drugs had higher percentages of positive tests for antidepressants, cocaine, marijuana, and opiates than homicide victims (Table 28).

Although 8.3% of persons who killed themselves following a homicide had a current depressed mood, only 3.6% were receiving mental-health treatment at the time of the fatal incident. Intimate-partner--relationship problems preceded homicide followed by suicide in 81.0% of suspected suicides. Other nonintimate-partner--relationship problems contributed to 13.7% of suspected suicides. Of suspects who killed themselves, 91.1% had had a personal crisis within the preceding 2 weeks. Previous criminal legal problems were noted in 19.1% of suspected suicides and noncriminal problems in 3.0%; physical health or financial problems were contributing circumstances in 6.6% and 4.2% of suspected suicides, respectively; 6.0% of suicide decedents had disclosed their intent to kill themselves; and 1.8% had a history of suicide attempts (Table 29).

Intimate-Partner Homicide

The 16 NVDRS states included in this report collected data concerning 562 incidents comprising 612 deaths of intimate-partner--related homicides that occurred during 2007. Of 612 homicide victims, 394 (64.4%) were female. Although 51.3% of homicide victims were non-Hispanic whites, rates were higher for AI/ANs and non-Hispanic blacks (2.1 and 1.6 per 100,000 population, respectively). Of 580 suspects, 451 (77.8%) were male, 252 (43.5%) were non-Hispanic whites and 186 (32.1%) non-Hispanic blacks. The highest percentages of victims and suspects (26.1% and 23.5%, respectively) were persons aged 35--44 years. The highest percentage (37.8%) of victims were married at the time of death (Table 30). Tests for alcohol were conducted for 81.5% of the victims. Of the 33.9% of decedents who tested positive for alcohol, 60.4% had a BAC of >0.08 g/dL. The percentage of victims tested for substances other than alcohol varied (range: 37.8%--56.5%) for various drugs; cocaine was evident in approximately 13% of victims tested for this substance (Table 31).

Suicide of Former or Current Military Personnel

The 16 NVDRS states included in this report collected data concerning 1,774 suicides by former or current military personnel that occurred during 2007. Of these decedents, 1,713 (96.6%) were male, and 1,627 (91.7%) were non-Hispanic whites. The greatest percentage of decedents were persons aged ≥35 years. The most common method (67.2%) used was a firearm followed by hanging/strangulation/suffocation (14.5%) and poisoning (12.3%) (Table 32). Among the 64.2% former or current military personnel suicide decedents who were tested for alcohol, 31.6% tested positive; 64.2% of these decedents had a BAC of >0.08 g/dL (Table 33). Although 43.2% were depressed at the time of death, and 36.8% had a mental-health problem, only 27.4% were receiving mental-health treatment. With respect to substance abuse, 16.4% had an alcohol problem, and 7.9% had a problem with other substances. Among those with known circumstance information, 25.2% had experienced a problem with an intimate partner, 37.2% had a physical-health problem, and 32.4% had experienced an acute crisis during the preceding 2 weeks. With respect to life stressors, 11.0% had experienced a job problem, 10.0% a financial problem, and 7.5% a criminal legal problem. Approximately one third (34.7%) left a suicide note, 13.8% had made a previous suicide attempt, and 26.9% had disclosed an intent to commit suicide (Table 34).

Legal Intervention

The 16 NVDRS states included in this report collected data on 145 legal-intervention incidents in 2007 resulting in 141 single-victim deaths and four deaths where the legal-intervention victim had recently committed a homicide. Of the 145 legal-intervention decedents, 45.5% were non-Hispanic whites and 35.2% were non-Hispanic blacks. With respect to location, 37.9% of legal-intervention deaths occurred in a house or apartment, 31.7% on a street or highway, and 9.0% in a parking lot or public garage (Table 35). The majority of decedents were aged 20--54 years (Table 36). Of the 87.6% of legal-intervention decedents tested for alcohol, 38.6% were positive for alcohol and 67.4% of these decedents had a BAC of >0.08 g/dL. The percentage of victims tested for other substances varied (range: 49.7%--75.9%). The presence of other drugs for which tests were positive also varied: 30.6% of those tested for marijuana, 24.6% of decedents tested for cocaine, 20.4% of those tested for amphetamines, 9.3% of those tested for opiates, and 5.4% of those tested for antidepressants were positive for these substances (Table 37).

Suicide Among Persons Aged ≥50 Years

In 2007, NVDRS collected data for 3,677 persons aged ≥50 years who died by suicide. Of those, rates of suicide were highest among those aged 50--59 years (16.7 per 100,000 population), followed by those aged ≥80 years (15.8 per 100,000). Beginning with those aged 60--69 years, rates increase with age from 13.4 per 100,000 to 14.4 for those aged 70--79 years, and 15.8 for those aged ≥80 years. Among persons aged ≥50 years, rates were five times higher among males than among females (26.1 and 5.1 per 100,000 population, respectively). Rates were highest among non-Hispanic whites (17.7 per 100,000 population), followed by AI/ANs (11.7 per 100,000 population), Hispanics (8.6), APIs (5.6), and non-Hispanic blacks (3.9). At the time of death, persons aged 50--69 years most often were either married or divorced. Those aged 70--79 years and those aged ≥80 years most often were either married or widowed (Table 38).

The majority (81.9%) of suicide decedents aged ≥50 years died in a house or apartment. The second-most-common location for those aged 50--59 and 60--69 years was a natural area (4.7% and 3.5%, respectively). The second-most-common location for those aged 70--79 years was a street/highway (2.2%) and for those aged ≥80 natural areas, street/highway and motor vehicle were equally common at 1.2% each. As to method used by suicide decedents aged ≥50 years, firearms accounted for 60.6% of deaths (rate: 9.3 per 100,000 population), poisoning for 19.6% (3.0 per 100,000 population), and hanging/strangulation/suffocation for 12.6% (1.9 per 100,000 population). Rates of firearm suicide were highest among persons aged ≥80 years (12.1 per 100,000) and those aged 70--79 years (11.1 per 100,000 population) (Table 38).

Precipitating circumstances were identified for approximately 86% of older adult suicides. Current depressed mood (39.1%), current mental-health problem (39.1%), and physical-health problems (33.0%) were the most commonly identified circumstances; 30.8% left a suicide note, and 24.7% disclosed their intent to commit suicide (Table 39).

Discussion

The findings in this report indicate clear variations in patterns of death from violence-related injuries, unintentional firearm-related injuries, and deaths of undetermined intent reported from the 16 states included in this report. Rates for these deaths were disproportionately higher among males, adults aged <55 years, and minority populations. A residence (house or apartment) was the most common location for all deaths. Of all incidents meeting NVDRS inclusionary criteria in 2007 in the 16 states included in this report, approximately 98% involved a single victim.

Suicide Patterns

Suicide rates were higher among males than among females, AI/ANs, and non-Hispanic whites than among non-Hispanic blacks, and highest among persons aged 45--54 years. These findings are similar to those that have been documented in other reports (7--9). Persons aged ≥80 years have typically had the highest rates of suicide in the United States (1). However, in 2006, rates of suicide among persons aged 45--54 years in the United States surpassed those for persons aged ≥80 years (1). This pattern also was noted in the findings from NVDRS states in 2006 (10) and has continued in 2007. Problems related to mental health, jobs, finances, or relationships might have contributed to the high rates of suicide in this age group. Mental health and/or substance-abuse problems, relationship problems and losses, and recent crises were frequent precipitants for suicide. These factors have been documented in other studies as important risk factors for suicide (8,11).

Alcohol was a factor in approximately one third of the reported suicides, and 62% of these decedents had a BAC of >0.08 g/dL at the time of death. Alcohol and drug abuse are second only to depression and other mood disorders as the most frequent risk factors for suicidal behavior (8,12,13). However, the relation between these factors is complex. Previous research indicates that alcohol intoxication might act as an important proximal (i.e., an experience often occurs immediately prior to a suicide) risk factor for suicidal behavior (14). In cases where there is alcohol dependency, the alcohol abuse might lead directly to depression or indirectly through a sense of decline or failure that is experienced by many persons who are dependent on alcohol. Alcohol also might be a form of self-medication to alleviate depression. Both depression and alcohol abuse also might be the result of specific stresses in a person's life (15). The co-occurrence of mood disorders with substance abuse, including alcohol abuse, greatly increases the risk for suicidal behavior (16).

Many of the circumstances surrounding suicides (e.g., mental health problems, alcohol problems, and recent crises) also were found for certain special populations examined in this report. However, other factors also were important. Physical health problems were more frequently noted for former or current military personnel and in adults aged ≥70 years. Physical illness is believed to be a common antecedent to suicide among the elderly, although prevalence estimates vary widely, and it appears to be a stronger contributing factor when mood disorders, depressive symptoms or other factors also are present (8,15). For example, untreated or undertreated pain, anxiety about the progression of an illness, fear of dependence, and fear of burdening family members are major contributing factors in suicidal behavior among elderly persons with physical illnesses (8). Many of these factors also are evident in military populations with disabling conditions. The proportion of former or current military personnel reported to be experiencing health problems also might reflect a difference in reporting and contact with health-care professionals.

Finally, approximately 30% of suicide victims had disclosed their intent to commit suicide, and approximately 20% had made a previous suicide attempt. A previous suicide attempt is an important predictor of subsequent fatal suicidal behavior (8,15). Disclosure of intent also is an important warning sign of suicidal intentions, although persons in close contact with potential victims of suicide often are unaware of the significance of these warnings or unsure how to act on them (17).

Homicide Patterns

Homicide rates were higher among males than among females, among non-Hispanic blacks compared with members of other racial/ethnic populations, and among persons aged 20--24 years compared with persons in other age groups. These findings also are consistent with patterns documented in other reports. Homicide is the second leading cause of death in the United States among persons aged 15--24 years, and rates among non-Hispanic blacks in this age group exceed those of other racial/ethnic populations by approximately fourfold to sevenfold (1). Males also are disproportionately represented among victims of homicide in the United States and elsewhere (1,18).

The majority of homicides involved a single victim. Multiple decedent homicides and homicide-suicide incidents accounted for <3% of violent deaths. The majority of homicides were related to interpersonal conflicts. Crime was a factor in approximately one third of all homicide/legal-intervention deaths, with robbery being the primary circumstance. These findings are consistent with other research on homicide. Arguments and conflicts are immediate motivations for the majority of both male and female homicides in the United States (19). One factor that distinguishes male from female homicides is the relationship between the victim and the perpetrator. In the United States, approximately one in three homicides of females is committed by a current or former spouse or partner (20). Among male homicide victims, approximately 5% are killed by intimate partners. The findings of this report indicate that male homicide decedents were more frequently killed following arguments or conflicts with persons other than an intimate partner or for other reasons (e.g., crime or drug-related) whereas more than half of homicides involving a female victim involved intimate-partner--related violence.

As with suicide decedents, alcohol was present in approximately one third of homicide decedents; more than half of these decedents (55.4%) had BACs of >0.08 g/dL. Alcohol is an important situational factor in interpersonal violence. In the case of interpersonal violence among youths, excessive alcohol consumption might increase impulsivity and make some drinkers more likely to resort to violence in a confrontation or argument (21,22). Reduced physical control and the ability to assess risks in potentially dangerous situations also can make some drinkers more vulnerable to victimization (21,22). In the case of intimate-partner violence, excessive alcohol consumption by one or both partners might exacerbate financial or child care problems or other stressors and increase tension and conflict in the relationship (23). Alcohol also can be a form of self-medication to cope with previous or current experiences of abuse (23).

Method of Injury

Approximately two thirds of all homicides and approximately one half of all suicides in the United States are committed with a firearm (1). In the 16 states included in this report, firearms were the most common method used in homicides, incidents involving multiple victims, and incidents of homicide followed by suicide. Previous research indicates that interpersonal disputes can escalate and cause serious violent injury or death, especially when weapons of lethal means (e.g., firearms) are involved in the dispute (24,25). Firearms also were the most common method used in suicides; however, methods differed by sex. Firearms were the most common method used by males to complete suicide followed by hanging/strangulation/suffocation. Poisoning was the most common method used by females, followed by firearms.

Deaths where the intent was undetermined were primarily the result of poisonings or had an unknown cause. Poisoning was the most common method for both males and females. Toxicology results documented a high prevalence of alcohol and other substances at the time of death. For example, approximately 85% of decedents with undetermined intent were tested for opiates, and nearly 57% tested positive for these substances. Whether these deaths were related to unintentional drug poisonings, (which have increased substantially in recent years, particularly among adults aged 35--54 years [26,27]) or were suicides is unknown. The majority (49%) of decedents in the 16 states were aged 35--54 years. Substance-abuse problems involving drugs other than alcohol were the most commonly noted circumstance; approximately 40% of such decedents had a mental-health problem, and 10% had a history of suicide attempts.

Prevention Opportunities

Information concerning the precipitating circumstances in violent deaths described in this report provides important clues regarding where to focus prevention efforts. For example, relationship problems, interpersonal conflicts, and recent crises were important precipitating factors for both homicide and suicide. Intimate-partner--related problems, in particular, were a factor in many types of violent death. Primary prevention programs designed to enhance social problem-solving and coping skills to deal with stressful life events, health and financial problems, or other problems that occur within interpersonal relationships can potentially reduce violence (28). In addition to demonstrating the need to address situational stressors, the findings in this report underscore the importance of changing cultural and social norms (e.g., attitudes condoning the use of violence as a means of resolving conflict) addressing the social and economic conditions within communities that often give rise to violence (e.g., inequities with regard to the distribution of and access to resources and opportunities, social isolation, lack of connectedness among persons, families, and communities) and intervening much earlier by teaching young persons the skills to develop and promote respectful, nonviolent interpersonal relationships. Some of the strategies that offer the strongest evidence of effectiveness with respect to the latter are primary prevention strategies that focus on family environments, school environments, and building individual social, emotional, and behavioral competencies (28--31).

The findings of this report also highlight the importance of addressing mental health problems. Mental-health problems were highly prevalent among suicide decedents, yet many were not receiving treatment at the time of death. Reasons why persons do not seek care for mental health problems include the belief that the problem will resolve on its own, financial barriers, a lack of awareness of available services, fear of hospitalization, embarrassment, fear of what others might think, and the belief that acknowledgment or discovery of a mental health problem could damage one's career or relationships (8). Despite public education efforts focused on the nature, causes, and treatment of mental illness, the stigma of mental illness is one of the most significant barriers deterring persons from seeking treatment (8). Stigma leads persons to fear, reject, and distance themselves from persons with mental health problems. Findings from a national study indicate that approximately 47%--63% of persons in the United States want to distance themselves from persons with depression and schizophrenia (32). The consequences of stigma for persons suffering from these problems include diminished opportunities, lowered self-esteem, shame and concealment of symptoms, and lower help-seeking behavior (8). These results underscore the need for prevention measures aimed at changing cultural attitudes and norms surrounding mental health problems so that persons in need of treatment can seek the care of professionals and reach out to family, friends, and others without hesitation.

Limitations

The findings provided in this report are subject to at least seven limitations. First, the availability, completeness, and timeliness of data are dependent on the sharing of data among state health department NVDRS teams, CMEs, and law enforcement personnel in their states. This is particularly challenging when states have independent county coroner systems rather than a centralized CME system and large numbers of law enforcement jurisdictions. NVDRS incident data might be limited or incomplete for areas in which these data-sharing relations are not developed fully.

Second, toxicology data are not collected consistently across all states or for all alcohol and drug categories. The percentage of decedents testing positive might be affected by selective testing biases in medical examiner or coroner offices (33). Third, abstractors are limited to the data included in the reports they receive. Reports might not fully reflect all information known about an incident, particularly in the case of homicides, when data are less readily available until after prosecutions are complete. Fourth, case definitions present challenges when a single death is classified differently in different documents (e.g., "unintentional" in a police report, "homicide" in a CME report, and "undetermined" on the death certificate). NVDRS abstractors reconcile these cases using standardized NVDRS case definitions and select a single manner of death on the basis of all source documents. Fifth, NVDRS data are available only from a limited number of states and therefore are not nationally representative. Sixth, although extensive coding training is conducted and help desk support is available daily, variations in coding might occur depending on the abstractor's level of experience. For this reason, states regularly conduct blinded reabstraction of cases to test consistency and identify training needs. Finally, protective factor data (i.e., characteristics or circumstances that reduce the risk for violent death) are not collected by NVDRS because of the nature of death certificate, CME record, and police reports, which typically contain only circumstances associated with risk factors.

Conclusion

Accurate, timely, and comprehensive surveillance data can be used to monitor the occurrence of violence-related fatal injuries and assist public health and other authorities in the development, implementation, and evaluation of programs and policies that reduce and prevent violent deaths and injuries at the national, state, and local levels (34,35). Continued development and expansion of NVDRS is critical to the public health and criminal justice communities at the federal, state, and local levels that work to reduce the personal, familial, and societal costs of violence. Further efforts are needed to increase the number of states participating in NVDRS, with the ultimate goal of full national representation, including all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories.

Acknowledgments

Contributors to this report included participating state Violent Death Reporting Systems; participating state agencies, including state health departments, vital registrars' offices, coroners' and medical examiners' offices, crime laboratories, and local and state law enforcement agencies; partner organizations, including the State and Territorial Injury Prevention Directors' Association, National Violence Prevention Network, National Association of Medical Examiners, National Association for Public Health Statistics and Information Systems, Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, and Association of State and Territorial Health Officials; federal agencies, including the Department of Justice (Bureau of Justice Statistics and the Federal Bureau of Investigation), the Department of the Treasury (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms); other stakeholders, researchers, and foundations, including Harvard University School of Public Health, the Joyce Foundation, and Fenton Communications; and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, National Center for Health Statistics, CDC.

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  20. Federal Bureau of Investigation. Crime in the United States, 2007. Washington, DC: US Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation; 2007. Available at http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2007/offenses/expanded_information/homicide.html.
  21. Parker RN. Alcohol and violence: connections, evidence and possibilities for prevention. J Psychoactive Drugs 2004 (Supp2):S157--63.
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  23. World Health Organization. Alcohol and intimate partner violence. Fact sheet, 2005. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 2005. Available at http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/violence/world_report/factsheets/ft_intimate.pdf.
  24. Fagan J, Wilkinson DL. Guns, youth violence, and social identity in inner cities. Crime and Justice 1998;24:105--88.
  25. Wilkinson DL. Guns, violence and identity among African-American and Latino youth. New York, NY: LFB Scholarly Publishing; 2003.
  26. Paulozzi LJ, Budnitz DS, Xi Y. Increasing deaths from opioid analgesics in the United States. Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf 2006;15:618--27.
  27. CDC. Unintentional poisoning deaths---United States, 1999--2004. MMWR 2007;56:93--6.
  28. Lutzker JR, ed. Preventing violence: research and evidence-based intervention strategies. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association; 2006.
  29. Hahn R, Fuqua-Whitley D, Lowry J, et al. The effectiveness of universal school-based programs for the prevention of violence: a report on recommendations of the Task Force on Community Preventive Services. Am J Prev Med 2008;33:S114--29.
  30. Wilson SJ, Lipsey MW, Derzon JH. The effects of school-based intervention programs on aggressive behavior: a meta-analysis. J Consult Clin Psychol 2003;71:136--49.
  31. Henggeler SW, Clingempeel WG, Brondino MJ, et al. Four-year follow-up of multisystemic therapy with substance-abusing and substance-dependent juvenile offenders. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2002;41:868--74.
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FIGURE. States participating in the National Violent Death Reporting System, by year of initial data collection --- United States, 2003--2010

The figure presents a U.S. map with the states shaded based on the year they initially began collecting NVDRS data. Seven states (Alaska, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon, South Carolina, and Virginia) began collecting data in 2003, six states (Colorado, Georgia, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin) in 2004, four (California, Kentucky, New Mexico, and Utah) in 2005, and two (Ohio and Michigan) in 2010.

Alternate Text: The figure presents a U.S. map with the states shaded based on the year they initially began collecting NVDRS data. Seven states (Alaska, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon, South Carolina, and Virginia) began collecting data in 2003, six states (Colorado, Georgia, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin) in 2004, four (California, Kentucky, New Mexico, and Utah) in 2005, and two (Ohio and Michigan) in 2010.


BOX 1. International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes used in the National Violent Death Reporting System

Manner of death

Death ≤1 year after injury

Death >1 year after injury

Intentional self-harm (suicide)

Assault (homicide)

Event of undetermined intent

Unintentional exposure to inanimate

mechanical forces (firearms)

Legal intervention excluding executions, (Y35.5)

Terrorism

X60--X84

X85--X99, Y00--Y09

Y10--Y34

W32--W34

Y35.0--Y35.4, Y35.6--Y35.7

U01, U03

Y87.0

Y87.1

Y87.2, Y89.9

Y86 determined to be

attributable to firearms

Y89.0

U02


BOX 2. Methods of injury --- National Violent Death Reporting System, 16 states, 2007

  • Firearm: method that uses a powder charge to fire a projectile.
  • Sharp instrument: knife, razor, machete, pointed instrument (e.g., chisel or broken glass).
  • Blunt instrument: club, bat, rock, or brick.
  • Poisoning: street drug, alcohol, pharmaceutical, carbon monoxide, gas, rat poison, or insecticide.
  • Hanging/strangulation/suffocation: hanging by the neck, manual strangulation, or plastic bag over the head.
  • Personal weapons: hands, fists, or feet.
  • Fall: being pushed or jumping.
  • Drowning: inhalation of liquid in bathtub, lake, or other source of water/liquid.
  • Fire/burn: inhalation of smoke or the direct effects of fire or chemical burns.
  • Shaking: shaking a baby, child, or adult.
  • Motor vehicle: car, bus, or motorcycle.
  • Other transport vehicle: train or airplane.
  • Intentional neglect: starvation, lack of adequate supervision, or withholding of health care.
  • Other: any method other than those listed above.
  • Unknown: method not reported or not known.

BOX 3. Circumstances preceding fatal injury, by manner of death --- National Violent Death Reporting System, 16 states, 2007

Suicide/Undetermined Intent

  • Current depressed mood: decedent was perceived by self or others to be depressed.
  • Current mental health problem: decedent has been identified as having a mental health disorder or syndrome listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, Version IV (DSM-IV).
  • First/second type of mental illness diagnosis: identifies the DSM-IV diagnosis made by a medical or mental health practitioner.
  • Current treatment for mental illness: decedent was currently receiving mental health treatment as evidenced by a current psychotropic medication or visit to a mental health professional in the previous 2 months.
  • Alcohol/other substance problem: decedent was perceived by self or others to have a problem with, or to be addicted to, alcohol or other drugs.
  • Person left a suicide note: decedent left a note, e-mail message, video, or other communication indicating an intent to die by suicide.
  • Disclosed intent to die by suicide: decedent had previously expressed suicidal feelings to another person with time for that person to intervene; disclosure only at the time of the event, with no opportunity to intervene, is not coded as "disclosed intent to commit suicide."
  • History of suicide attempts: decedent was known to have made previous attempts, regardless of the severity of those attempts.
  • Crisis during previous 2 weeks: a very current crisis or acute precipitating event appears to have contributed to the suicide. This is designed to measure impulsivity. The crisis event must have occurred in the previous 2 weeks or be impending in the following 2 weeks (e.g., a trial for a criminal offense begins the following week).
  • Physical health problem: decedent was experiencing physical health problems that are believed to have contributed to the suicide (e.g., a recent cancer diagnosis or chronic pain).
  • Intimate partner problem: problems with a current or former intimate partner that appear to have contributed to the suicide.
  • Other relationship problem: problems with a family member, friend, or associate (other than an intimate partner) that appear to have contributed to the suicide.
  • Job problem: decedent was either experiencing a problem at work or was having a problem with joblessness.
  • School problem: decedent was experiencing a problem such as poor grades, bullying, social exclusion at school, or performance pressures.
  • Financial problem: decedent was experiencing problems such as bankruptcy, overwhelming debt, or foreclosure of a home or business.
  • Suicide of friend or family in previous 5 years: decedent was distraught over, or reacting to, a relatively recent suicide of a friend or family member.
  • Other death of friend or family in previous 5 years: decedent was distraught over, or reacting to, a relatively recent nonsuicide death of a friend or family member.
  • Recent criminal legal problem: decedent was facing criminal legal problems that appear to be associated with the suicide.
  • Other legal problem: decedent was facing civil legal problems (e.g., a child custody or civil lawsuit).
  • Perpetrator of interpersonal violence in previous month: decedent perpetrated interpersonal violence (e.g., being sought by police for assault or having been issued a restraining order resulting from recent violence) during the previous month.
  • Victim of interpersonal violence in previous month: decedent was the target of interpersonal violence in the past month.

Homicide/Legal Intervention

  • Precipitated by another crime: incident occurred as the result of another serious crime.
  • Nature of crime: identifies the actual crime (e.g., robbery or drug trafficking).
  • Crime in progress: crime was in progress at the time of the death.
  • Argument over money/property: conflict between decedent and suspect was over money or property (including drugs).
  • Other argument, abuse, conflict: conflict between decedent and suspect was over something other than money, property, or drugs.
  • Jealousy ("lovers' triangle"): jealousy or distress over an intimate partner's relationship or suspected relationship with another person led to the homicide.
  • Intimate-partner violence--related: homicide is related to conflict between current or former intimate partners; includes the death of actual intimate partners and nonintimate partner decedents killed to cause pain to an intimate partner (e.g., child or parent).

BOX 3. (Continued) Circumstances preceding fatal injury, by manner of death --- National Violent Death Reporting System, 16 states, 2007

  • Drug involvement: drug dealing or illegal drug use is suspected to have played a role in precipitating the homicide.
  • Gang-related: homicide is suspected to have resulted from gang activity or gang rivalry; not used if the decedent was a gang member but the homicide did not appear to result from gang activity.
  • Hate crime: decedent was intentionally selected because of his/her actual or perceived gender, religion, sexual orientation, race/ethnicity, or disability.
  • Brawl: mutual physical fight involving three or more persons.
  • Decedent was a bystander: decedent was not directly involved in the incident.
  • Decedent was a police officer on duty: a law enforcement officer killed in the line of duty.
  • Decedent was an intervener assisting a crime victim: decedent was attempting to assist a crime victim at the time of the incident (e.g., a child attempts to intervene and is killed while trying to assist a parent who is being assaulted).
  • Mercy killing: the decedent wished to die because of terminal or hopeless disease or condition, and documentation indicates that the decedent wanted to be killed.

Unintentional Firearm Death

  • Hunting: death occurred anytime after leaving home for a hunting trip and before returning home from a hunting trip; the shooting need not have been during an active hunt to be coded.
  • Target shooting: a shooter was aiming for a target and unintentionally hit a person; can be at a shooting range or an informal backyard setting.
  • Self-defensive shooting: self-inflicted shooting in which the decedent was attempting to use a gun in self-defense.
  • Celebratory firing: shooter fired the gun upward in a celebratory manner with no intention of threatening or endangering others.
  • Loading/unloading gun: firearm discharged when the shooter was loading/unloading ammunition.
  • Cleaning gun: firearm discharged when the shooter was cleaning the gun.
  • Showing gun to others: showing the gun to another person when the gun discharged or the trigger was pulled.
  • Playing with gun: the shooter and one or more others were playing with a gun.
  • Thought safety was engaged: shooter thought the gun was inoperable because the safety was engaged.
  • Thought unloaded/magazine disengaged: shooter thought the gun was unloaded because the magazine was disengaged.
  • Thought gun was unloaded/other: shooter thought the gun was unloaded for other unspecified reason.
  • Unintentionally pulled trigger: shooter unintentionally pulled the trigger (e.g., while grabbing the gun or holding it too tightly).
  • Bullet ricochet: bullet ricocheted from its intended target and unintentionally struck the decedent.
  • Gun defect or malfunction: gun had a defect or malfunctioned as determined by a trained firearm examiner.
  • Fired while holstering/unholstering: gun was being replaced or removed from holster/clothing.
  • Dropped gun: gun discharged when it was dropped or when something was dropped on it.
  • Fired while operating safety/lock: shooter unintentionally fired the gun while operating the safety lock.
  • Gun mistaken for toy: gun was mistaken for a toy and was fired without the user understanding the danger.

TABLE 1. Number*, percentage, and rate§ of incidents, by incident type, manner of death, method used, and location in which injury occurred --- National Violent Death Reporting System, 16 states, 2007

Characteristic

No.

(%)

Rate

Incident type

 

 

 

Suicide, single

9,048

(57.0)

NR**

Homicide, single

3,858

(24.3)

NR**

Unintentional firearm

107

(0.7)

NR**

Suicide, multiple

12

(0.1)

NR**

Homicide, multiple

148

(1.0)

NR**

Legal intervention

141

(0.9)

NR**

Homicide followed by suicide

172

(1.1)

NR**

Undetermined

2,389

(15.0)

NR**

Other combinations of deaths

6

---

NR**

Unknown

1

---

NR**

Total

15,882

(100.0)

NR**

Manner of death

 

 

 

Homicide/Legal intervention

4,563

(28.0)

5.7

Suicide

9,245

(56.6)

11.6

Undetermined intent

2,403

(14.7)

3.0

Unintentional firearm

107

(0.7)

0.1

Unknown

1

---

NR††

Total

16,319

(100.0)

19.9

Method

 

 

 

Firearm

7,871

(48.2)

9.9

Sharp instrument

712

(4.4)

0.9

Blunt instrument

321

(2.0)

0.4

Poisoning

3,328

(20.4)

4.2

Hanging/Strangulation/Suffocation

2,312

(14.2)

2.9

Personal weapons (hands, feet, fists)

161

(1.0)

0.2

Fall

205

(1.3)

0.3

Drowning

156

(1.0)

0.2

Fire/Burns

77

(0.5)

0.1

Shaking

28

(0.2)

---

Motor vehicles (e.g., buses, motorcycles, and other transport vehicles)

169

(1.0)

0.2

Intentional neglect

20

(0.1)

---

Other (single method)

138

(0.8)

0.2

Firearm and poisoning§§

1

---

NR††

Firearm and other method type§§

35

(0.2)

---

Poisoning and other method type§§

56

(0.3)

0.1

Other combination of methods††

107

(0.7)

0.1

Unknown

622

(3.8)

0.8

Total

16,319

(100.0)

19.9

Location

 

 

 

House

11,406

(69.9)

14.3

Street/Highway

1,344

(8.2)

1.7

Motor vehicle

392

(2.4)

0.5

Bar/Nightclub

69

(0.4)

0.1

Commercial/Retail area

188

(1.2)

0.2

Industrial or construction area

50

(0.3)

0.1

Office building

49

(0.3)

0.1

Parking lot/Public garage

337

(2.1)

0.4

Abandoned house/Building/Warehouse

23

(0.1)

---

Park, playground, sports/Athletic area

255

(1.6)

0.3

Preschool/School/College/School bus

56

(0.3)

0.1


TABLE 1. (Continued) Number*, percentage, and rate§ of incidents, by incident type, manner of death, method used, and location in which injury occurred --- National Violent Death Reporting System, 16 states, 2007

Location

No.

(%)

Rate

Public transportation/Station/Railroad tracks

56

(0.3)

0.1

Hospital or medical facility

68

(0.4)

0.1

Supervised residential facility

94

(0.6)

0.1

Jail/Prison

153

(0.9)

0.2

Farm

48

(0.3)

0.1

Natural area

627

(3.8)

0.8

Hotel/Motel

234

(1.4)

0.3

Other

479

(2.9)

0.6

Unknown

391

(2.4)

0.5

Total

16,319

(100.0)

19.9

* No. victims = 16,319 (79.4%); no. suspects/victims = 194 (0.9%); no. live suspects = 4,202 (20.4%); no. persons with unknown role = 29 (0.1%); no. incidents = 16,319.

Percentages might not total 100% because of rounding.

§ Per 100,000 population.

Alaska, Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

** Because the number of victims varies in incidents involving multiple deaths, population denominators cannot be determined to compute rates.

†† Rates not reported when number of decedents is <20.

§§ Deaths involving more than one method and for which evidence did not indicate which method caused injury.


TABLE 2. Number* and percentage of victims who were tested for alcohol and drugs whose results were positive, by toxicology variable --- National Violent Death Reporting System, 16 states, 2007

Toxicology Variable

Tested

Positive

No.

(%)

No.

(%)

Blood alcohol concentration (BAC)§

12,042

(73.8)

4,022

(33.4)

BAC ≤0.08 g/dL§

 

 

1,384

(34.4)

BAC >0.08 g/dL§

 

 

2,375

(59.1)

Alcohol positive, level unknown

 

 

263

(6.5)

Amphetamines

8,559

(52.5)

391

(4.6)

Antidepressants

7,044

(43.2)

1,656

(23.5)

Cocaine

9,103

(55.8)

1,233

(13.5)

Marijuana

5,958

(36.5)

664

(11.1)

Opiates

8,834

(54.1)

2,316

(26.2)

Other Drug(s)

7,911

(48.5)

3,529

(44.6)

* N=16,319.

Alaska, Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

§ BAC of 0.08% g/dL used as the standard for intoxication. Other substances indicated if any results were positive; levels for these substances are not measured.


TABLE 3. Number*, percentage, and rate§ of suicides, by method used and month in which suicide occurred --- National Violent Death Reporting System, 16 states, 2007

Characteristic

No.

(%)

Rate

Method

 

 

 

Firearm

4,683

(50.7)

5.9

Sharp instrument

155

(1.7)

0.2

Blunt instrument

6

(0.1)

NR**

Poisoning

1,742

(18.8)

2.2

Hanging/Strangulation/Suffocation

2,132

(23.1)

2.7

Fall

148

(1.6)

0.2

Drowning

96

(1.0)

0.1

Fire/Burns

30

(0.3)

0.0

Motor vehicles (e.g., buses, motorcycles, and other transport vehicles)

104

(1.1)

0.1

Other (single method)

20

(0.2)

0.0

Firearm and poisoning††

1

---

NR**

Firearm and other method type††

5

(0.1)

NR**

Poisoning and other method type††

28

(0.3)

0.0

Other combination of methods††

12

(0.1)

NR**

Unknown

83

(0.9)

0.1

Total

9,245

(100.0)

11.6

Month

 

 

 

January

707

(7.6)

0.9

February

674

(7.3)

0.8

March

799

(8.6)

1.0

April

745

(8.1)

0.9

May

832

(9.0)

1.0

June

773

(8.4)

1.0

July

795

(8.6)

1.0

August

769

(8.3)

1.0

September

796

(8.6)

1.0

October

852

(9.2)

1.1

November

770

(8.3)

1.0

December

719

(7.8)

0.9

Unknown

14

(0.2)

NR**

Total

9,245

(100.0)

11.6

* No. incidents = 9,233; no. victims = 9,245; no. decedents = 9,245.

Percentages might not total 100% because of rounding.

§ Per 100,000 population.

Alaska, Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

** Rates not reported when number of decedents is <20.

†† Deaths involving more than one method and for which evidence did not indicate which method caused the fatal injury.


TABLE 4. Number, percentage*, and rate of suicides, by decedent's sex, age group, race/ethnicity, and marital status --- National Violent Death Reporting System, 16 states,§ 2007

Characteristic

Male

Female

Total

No.

(%)

Rate

No.

(%)

Rate

No.

(%)

Rate

Age group (yrs)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10--14

35

(0.5)

1.3

10

(0.5)

NR

45

(0.5)

0.8

15--19

324

(4.5)

11.3

61

(3.0)

2.2

385

(4.2)

6.9

20--24

587

(8.1)

20.5

124

(6.1)

4.7

711

(7.7)

12.9

25--29

571

(7.9)

20.0

142

(7.0)

5.2

713

(7.7)

12.7

30--34

575

(8.0)

21.9

146

(7.2)

5.6

721

(7.8)

13.8

35--44

1,446

(20.1)

24.9

460

(22.6)

7.9

1,906

(20.6)

16.3

45--54

1,528

(21.2)

26.5

542

(26.6)

9.0

2,070

(22.4)

17.6

55--64

991

(13.7)

23.4

322

(15.8)

7.1

1,313

(14.2)

14.9

65--74

503

(7.0)

21.8

137

(6.7)

5.0

640

(6.9)

12.7

75--84

467

(6.5)

35.8

66

(3.2)

3.4

533

(5.8)

16.4

≥85

182

(2.5)

43.9

23

(1.1)

2.5

205

(2.2)

15.3

Unknown

2

---

NR

1

---

NR

3

---

NR

Total

7,211

(100.0)

18.4

2,034

(100.0)

5.0

9,245

(100.0)

11.6

Race/ethnicity

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

White, non-Hispanic

6,074

(84.2)

22.1

1782

(87.6)

6.2

7,856

(85.0)

14.0

Black, non-Hispanic

484

(6.7)

8.3

100

(4.9)

1.5

584

(6.3)

4.7

A/PI**

90

(1.2)

6.4

47

(2.3)

3.2

137

(1.5)

4.7

AI/AN††

145

(2.0)

29.5

37

(1.8)

7.3

182

(2.0)

18.2

Hispanic§§

396

(5.5)

9.8

63

(3.1)

1.7

459

(5.0)

6.0

Other¶¶

16

(0.2)

NR

4

(0.2)

NR

20

(0.2)

---

Unknown¶¶

6

(0.1)

NR

1

---

NR

7

(0.1)

NR

Total

7,211

(100.0)

18.4

2,034

(100.0)

5.0

9,245

(100.0)

11.6

Marital Status***

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Married

2,721

(38.7)

NR†††

737

(37.1)

NR†††

3,458

(38.4)

NR†††

Never married

2,059

(29.3)

NR†††

431

(21.7)

NR†††

2,490

(27.6)

NR†††

Widowed

418

(6.0)

NR†††

176

(8.9)

NR†††

594

(6.6)

NR†††

Divorced

1,556

(22.1)

NR†††

580

(29.2)

NR†††

2,136

(23.7)

NR†††

Married, but separated

62

(0.9)

NR†††

17

(0.9)

NR†††

79

(0.9)

NR†††

Single, not otherwise specified

120

(1.7)

NR†††

24

(1.2)

NR†††

144

(1.6)

NR†††

Unknown

90

(1.3)

NR†††

23

(1.2)

NR†††

113

(1.3)

NR†††

Total

7,026

(100.0)

NR†††

1,988

(100.0)

NR†††

9,014

(100.0)

NR†††

* Percentages might not total 100% because of rounding.

Per 100,000 population.

§ Alaska, Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

Rates not reported when number of decedents is <20.

** Asian/Pacific Islander.

†† American Indian/Alaskan Native.

§§ Includes persons of any race.

¶¶ Rates not computed for "other" or "unknown" categories.

*** Includes only decedents aged >18 years.

††† Rates cannot be computed for marital status because denominators are unknown.


TABLE 5. Number and percentage* of suicides, by sex of victim, method used, and location in which injury occurred --- National Violent Death Reporting System, 16 states, 2007

Characteristic

Male

Female

Total

No.

(%)

No.

(%)

No.

(%)

Method

 

 

 

 

 

 

Firearm

4,034

(56.0)

649

(31.9)

4,683

(50.7)

Sharp instrument

134

(1.9)

21

(1.0)

155

(1.7)

Blunt instrument

5

(0.1)

1

---

6

(0.1)

Poisoning

913

(12.7)

829

(40.8)

1,742

(18.8)

Hanging/Strangulation/Suffocation

1,756

(24.4)

376

(18.5)

2,132

(23.1)

Fall

107

(1.5)

41

(2.0)

148

(1.6)

Drowning

58

(0.8)

38

(1.9)

96

(1.0)

Fire/Burns

21

(0.3)

9

(0.4)

30

(0.3)

Motor vehicles (e.g., buses, motorcycles, and other transport vehicles)

82

(1.1)

22

(1.1)

104

(1.1)

Other (single method)

14

(0.2)

6

(0.3)

20

(0.2)

Firearm and poisoning§

---

---

1

---

1

---

Firearm and other method type§

4

(0.1)

1

---

5

(0.1)

Poisoning and other method type§

12

(0.2)

16

(0.8)

28

(0.3)

Other combination of methods§

11

(0.2)

1

---

12

(0.1)

Unknown

60

(0.8)

23

(1.1)

83

(0.9)

Total

7,211

(100.0)

2,034

(100.0)

9,245

(100.0)

Location

 

 

 

 

 

 

House

5,474

(75.9)

1,667

(82.0)

7,141

(77.2)

Street/Highway

236

(3.3)

43

(2.1)

279

(3.0)

Motor vehicle

174

(2.4)

32

(1.6)

206

(2.2)

Bar/Nightclub

2

---

---

---

2

---

Commercial/Retail area

45

(0.6)

2

(0.1)

47

(0.5)

Industrial or construction area

28

(0.4)

1

---

29

(0.3)

Office building

31

(0.4)

3

(0.1)

34

(0.4)

Parking lot/Public garage

86

(1.2)

30

(1.5)

116

(1.3)

Abandoned house, building or warehouse

4

(0.1)

---

---

4

---

Park, playground, sports/Athletic area

113

(1.6)

22

(1.1)

135

(1.5)

Preschool/School/College/School bus

15

(0.2)

6

(0.3)

21

(0.2)

Public transportation/Station/Railroad tracks

32

(0.4)

13

(0.6)

45

(0.5)

Hospital or medical facility

32

(0.4)

9

(0.4)

41

(0.4)

Supervised residential facility

40

(0.6)

7

(0.3)

47

(0.5)

Jail/Prison

115

(1.6)

5

(0.2)

120

(1.3)

Farm

30

(0.4)

1

---

31

(0.3)

Natural area

337

(4.7)

72

(3.5)

409

(4.4)

Hotel/Motel

115

(1.6)

38

(1.9)

153

(1.7)

Other

212

(2.9)

37

(1.8)

249

(2.7)

Unknown

90

(1.2)

46

(2.3)

136

(1.5)

Total

7,211

(100.0)

2,034

(100.0)

9,245

(100.0)

* Percentages might not total 100% because of rounding.

Alaska, Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

§ Deaths involving more than one method and for which evidence did not indicate which method caused the fatal injury.


TABLE 6. Number* and percentage of suicide victims tested for alcohol and drugs whose results were positive, by toxicology variable --- National Violent Death Reporting System, 16 states, 2007

 

Tested

Positive

Toxicology variable

No.

(%)

No.

(%)

Blood alcohol concentration (BAC)§

6,366

(68.9)

2,194

(34.5)

BAC ≤0.08 g/dL§

 

 

723

(33.0)

BAC >0.08 g/dL§

 

 

1,361

(62.0)

Alcohol--positive, level unknown

 

 

110

(5.0)

Amphetamines

4,089

(44.2)

145

(3.6)

Antidepressants

3,678

(39.8)

1,101

(30.0)

Cocaine

4,361

(47.2)

386

(8.9)

Marijuana

3,229

(35.7)

246

(7.5)

Opiates

4,352

(47.1)

994

(22.8)

Other Drug(s)

3,905

(32.2)

2,045

(52.4)

* N = 9,245.

Alaska, Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

§ BAC of 0.08% g/dL used as the standard for intoxication. Other substances indicated if any results were positive; levels for these substances are not measured.


TABLE 7. Number* and percentage of suicides, by sex and associated circumstances --- National Violent Death Reporting System, 16 states,§ 2007

Associated circumstances

Male

Female

Total

No.

(%)

No.

(%)

No.

(%)

Mental health/Substance abuse

 

 

 

 

 

 

Current depressed mood

2,547

(41.5)

755

(41.7)

3,302

(41.5)

Current mental health problem

2,433

(39.6)

1,139

(62.9)

3,572

(44.9)

Current mental health treatment

1,769

(28.8)

917

(50.6)

2,686

(33.8)

Alcohol problem

1,143

(18.6)

309

(17.1)

1,452

(18.3)

Other substance abuse problem

886

(14.4)

289

(16.0)

1,175

(14.8)

Interpersonal

 

 

 

 

 

 

Intimate partner problem

1,948

(31.7)

479

(26.4)

2,427

(30.5)

Other relationship problem (nonintimate)

703

(11.4)

232

(12.8)

935

(11.8)

Suicide of family member or friend during preceding 5 yrs

114

(1.9)

33

(1.8)

147

(1.9)

Other death of family member or friend during preceding 5 yrs

387

(6.3)

122

(6.7)

509

(6.4)

Perpetrator of interpersonal violence during preceding month

345

(5.6)

29

(1.6)

374

(4.7)

Victim of interpersonal violence during preceding month

15

(0.2)

20

(1.1)

35

(0.4)

Life stressor

 

 

 

 

 

 

Crisis during preceding 2 wks

2,005

(32.6)

483

(26.7)

2,488

(31.3)

Physical health problem

1,309

(21.3)

396

(21.9)

1,705

(21.4)

Job problem

774

(12.6)

141

(7.8)

915

(11.5)

Recent criminal legal problem

686

(11.2)

70

(3.9)

756

(9.5)

Noncriminal legal problem

238

(3.9)

56

(3.1)

294

(3.7)

Financial problem

747

(12.2)

182

(10.0)

929

(11.7)

School problem

69

(1.1)

15

(0.8)

84

(1.1)

Suicide event

 

 

 

 

 

 

Left a suicide note

1,940

(31.6)

707

(39.0)

2,647

(33.3)

Disclosed intent to commit suicide

1,702

(27.7)

525

(29.0)

2,227

(28.0)

History of suicide attempt(s)

972

(15.8)

612

(33.8)

1,584

(19.9)

* N = 7,952 (6,141 males and 1,811 females). Circumstances unknown for 1,293 of 9,245 deaths.

Percentages might exceed 100% because multiple circumstances might have been coded.

§ Alaska, Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin.


TABLE 8. Number* and percentage of suicide decedents who had received a diagnosis of a current mental health problem, by diagnosis --- National Violent Death Reporting System, 16 states,§ 2007

Mental health problem

No.

(%)

Depression/Dysthymia

2,677

(74.9)

Bipolar disorder

518

(14.5)

Anxiety disorder

290

(8.1)

Schizophrenia

166

(4.6)

PTSD

60

(1.7)

OCD**

16

(0.4)

ADD/ADHD††

32

(0.9)

Eating disorder

7

(0.2)

Other

150

(4.2)

Unknown

308

(8.6)

* N = 3,572.

Percentages might exceed 100% because multiple diagnosis categories might have been coded.

§ Alaska, Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

Posttraumatic stress disorder.

** Obsessive-compulsive disorder.

†† Attention deficit disorder/Attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder.


TABLE 9. Number,* percentage, and rate§ of homicides/legal intervention deaths, by method used and month in which death occurred --- National Violent Death Reporting System, 16 states, 2007

Characteristic

No.

(%)

Rate

Method

 

 

 

Firearm

3,017

(66.1)

3.8

Sharp instrument

551

(12.1)

0.7

Blunt instrument

266

(5.8)

0.3

Poisoning

23

(0.5)

---

Hanging/Strangulation/Suffocation

138

(3.0)

0.2

Personal weapons (hands, feet, or fists)

155

(3.4)

0.2

Fall

17

(0.4)

NR**

Drowning

9

(0.2)

NR**

Fire/Burns

28

(0.6)

---

Shaking

28

(0.6)

---

Motor vehicles (e.g., buses, motorcycles, and other transport vehicles)

35

(0.8)

---

Intentional neglect

15

(0.3)

NR**

Other (single method)

24

(0.5)

---

Firearm and other method type††

29

(0.6)

---

Poisoning and other method type††

7

(0.2)

NR**

Other combination of methods††

92

(2.0)

0.1

Unknown

129

(2.8)

0.2

Total

4,563

(100.0)

5.7

Month

 

 

 

January

358

(7.8)

0.4

February

288

(6.3)

0.4

March

367

(8.0)

0.5

April

395

(8.7)

0.5

May

383

(8.4)

0.5

June

424

(9.3)

0.5

July

401

(8.8)

0.5

August

453

(9.9)

0.6

September

365

(8.0)

0.5

October

368

(8.1)

0.5

November

360

(7.9)

0.5

December

391

(8.6)

0.5

Unknown

10

(0.2)

NR**

Total

4,563

(100.0)

5.7

* No. victims = 4,545; no. suspects/victims = 18; no. live suspects = 4,136; total includes 4,545 victims and 18 suspects who were subsequently killed; no. incidents = 4,324.

Percentages might not total 100% because of rounding.

§ Per 100,000 population.

Alaska, Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

** Rates not reported when number of decedents is <20.

†† Deaths involving more than one method and for which evidence did not indicate which method caused the fatal injury.


TABLE 10. Number and percentage* of homicides/legal intervention deaths, by victim's marital status and relationship to suspect --- National Violent Death Reporting System, 16 states, 2007

Characteristic

No.

(%)

Marital Status§

Married

919

(22.7)

Never married

2,144

(53.0)

Widowed

126

(3.1)

Divorced

528

(13.0)

Married, but separated

22

(0.5)

Single, not otherwise specified

222

(5.5)

Unknown

87

(2.1)

Total

4,048

(100.0)

Relationship

 

 

Spouse/Intimate partner (current or former)

477

(10.5)

Parent

73

(1.6)

Child

153

(3.4)

Other intimate partner involvement

26

(0.6)

Other relative

120

(2.6)

Acquaintance/Friend

716

(15.7)

Rival gang member

35

(0.8)

Stranger

382

(8.4)

Victim injured by a law enforcement officer

153

(3.4)

Other specified relationship

335

(7.3)

More than one relationship mentioned

86

(1.9)

Multiple suspects in incident

127

(2.8)

Relationship unknown/missing

1,880

(41.2)

Total

4,563

(100.0)

* Percentages might not total 100% because of rounding.

Alaska, Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

§ Includes only those victims aged >18 years.

Death because of intimate partner-related violence, but not between the intimate partners themselves (e.g., when child is killed by the mother's partner or the teenager kills his mother's partner).


TABLE 11. Number, percentage,* and rate of homicides/legal intervention deaths, by victim's sex, age group, and race/ethnicity --- National Violent Death Reporting System, 16 states,§ 2007

Male

Female

Total

Characteristic

No.

(%)

Rate

No.

(%)

Rate

No.

(%)

Rate

Age group (yrs)

<1

64

(1.8)

11.1

45

(4.5)

8.2

109

(2.4)

9.7

1--4

51

(1.4)

2.3

45

(4.5)

2.1

96

(2.1)

2.2

5--9

21

(0.6)

0.8

25

(2.5)

1.0

46

(1.0)

0.9

10--14

30

(0.8)

1.1

24

(2.4)

0.9

54

(1.2)

1.0

15--19

453

(12.7)

15.8

77

(7.6)

2.8

530

(11.6)

9.5

20--24

699

(19.7)

24.5

113

(11.2)

4.2

812

(17.8)

14.7

25--29

584

(16.4)

20.5

108

(10.7)

3.9

692

(15.2)

12.4

30--34

392

(11.0)

14.9

74

(7.3)

2.9

466

(10.2)

8.9

35--44

542

(15.3)

9.3

198

(19.6)

3.4

740

(16.2)

6.3

45--54

405

(11.4)

7.0

161

(16.0)

2.7

566

(12.4)

4.8

55--64

191

(5.4)

4.5

65

(6.4)

1.4

256

(5.6)

2.9

65--74

72

(2.0)

3.1

34

(3.4)

1.2

106

(2.3)

2.1

75--84

40

(1.1)

3.1

28

(2.8)

1.4

68

(1.5)

2.1

≥85

8

(0.2)

NR

12

(1.2)

NR

20

(0.4)

1.5

Unknown

2

(0.1)

NR

---

---

NR

2

---

NR

Total

3,554

(100.0)

9.0

1009

(100.0)

2.5

4,563

(100.0)

5.7

Race/ethnicity

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

White, non-Hispanic

960

(27.0)

3.5

485

(48.1)

1.7

1,445

(31.7)

2.6

Black, non-Hispanic

2,004

(56.4)

34.3

368

(36.5)

5.7

2,372

(52.0)

19.3

A/PI**

40

(1.1)

2.8

23

(2.3)

1.5

63

(1.4)

2.2

AI/AN††

79

(2.2)

16.1

26

(2.6)

5.1

105

(2.3)

10.5

Hispanic§§

447

(12.6)

11.0

103

(10.2)

2.9

550

(12.1)

7.2

Other

21

(0.6)

0.1

3

(0.3)

NR

24

(0.5)

---

Unknown

3

(0.1)

NR

1

(0.1)

NR

4

(0.1)

NR

Total

3,554

(100.0)

9.0

1,009

(100.0)

2.5

4,563

(100.0)

5.7

* Percentages might not total 100% because of rounding.

Per 100,000 population.

§ Alaska, Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

Rates not reported when number of decedents is <20.

** Asian/Pacific Islander.

†† American Indian/Alaskan Native.

§§ Includes persons of any race.


TABLE 12. Number and percentage* of homicides/legal intervention deaths, by victim's sex, method used, and location in which injury occurred --- National Violent Death Reporting System, 16 states, 2007

Method/Location

Male

Female

Total

No.

(%)

No.

(%)

No.

(%)

Method

 

 

 

 

 

 

Firearm

2,549

(71.7)

468

(46.4)

3,017

(66.1)

Sharp instrument

385

(10.8)

166

(16.5)

551

(12.1)

Blunt instrument

192

(5.4)

74

(7.3)

266

(5.8)

Poisoning

11

(0.3)

12

(1.2)

23

(0.5)

Hanging/Strangulation/Suffocation

51

(1.4)

87

(8.6)

138

(3.0)

Personal weapons (hands, feet, or fists)

108

(3.0)

47

(4.7)

155

(3.4)

Fall

14

(0.4)

3

(0.3)

17

(0.4)

Drowning

3

(0.1)

6

(0.6)

9

(0.2)

Fire/Burns

17

(0.5)

11

(1.1)

28

(0.6)

Shaking

18

(0.5)

10

(1.0)

28

(0.6)

Motor vehicles (e.g., buses, motorcycles, and other transport vehicles)

26

(0.7)

9

(0.9)

35

(0.8)

Intentional neglect

8

(0.2)

7

(0.7)

15

(0.3)

Other (single method)

14

(0.4)

10

(1.0)

24

(0.5)

Firearm and other method type§

22

(0.6)

7

(0.7)

29

(0.6)

Poisoning and other method type§

2

(0.1)

5

(0.5)

7

(0.2)

Other combination of methods§

43

(1.2)

49

(4.9)

92

(2.0)

Unknown

91

(2.6)

38

(3.8)

129

(2.8)

Total

3,554

(100.0)

1,009

(100.0)

4,563

(100.0)

Location

 

 

 

 

 

 

House

1,590

(44.7)

733

(72.6)

2,323

(50.9)

Street/Highway

923

(26.0)

69

(6.8)

992

(21.7)

Motor vehicle

141

(4.0)

19

(1.9)

160

(3.5)

Bar/Nightclub

65

(1.8)

1

(0.1)

66

(1.4)

Commercial/Retail area

107

(3.0)

27

(2.7)

134

(2.9)

Industrial or construction area

11

(0.3)

3

(0.3)

14

(0.3)

Office building

12

(0.3)

2

(0.2)

14

(0.3)

Parking lot/Public garage

192

(5.4)

19

(1.9)

211

(4.6)

Abandoned house, building, or warehouse

11

(0.3)

1

(0.1)

12

(0.3)

Park, playground, sports/athletic area

91

(2.6)

18

(1.8)

109

(2.4)

Preschool/School/College/School bus

19

(0.5)

14

(1.4)

33

(0.7)

Public transportation/Station/Railroad tracks

2

(0.1)

---

---

2

---

Hospital or medical facility

9

(0.3)

3

(0.3)

12

(0.3)

Supervised residential facility

9

(0.3)

1

(0.1)

10

(0.2)

Jail/Prison

26

(0.7)

---

---

26

(0.6)

Farm

10

(0.3)

1

(0.1)

11

(0.2)

Natural area

97

(2.7)

27

(2.7)

124

(2.7)

Hotel/Motel

34

(1.0)

19

(1.9)

53

(1.2)

Other

119

(3.3)

24

(2.4)

143

(3.1)

Unknown

86

(2.4)

28

(2.8)

114

(2.5)

Total

3,554

(100.0)

1,009

(100)

4,563

(100.0)

* Percentages might not total 100% because of rounding.

Alaska, Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

§ Deaths involving more than one method and for which evidence did not indicate which method caused the fatal injury.


TABLE 13. Number* and percentage of homicide/legal intervention victims tested for alcohol and drugs whose results were positive, by toxicology variable --- National Violent Death Reporting System, 16 states, 2007

Tested

Positive

Toxicology Variable

No.

(%)

No.

(%)

Blood alcohol concentration (BAC)§

3,556

(77.9)

1,231

(34.6)

BAC ≤ 0.08 g/dL§

 

 

428

(34.8)

BAC >0.08 g/dL§

 

 

682

(55.4)

Alcohol positive, level unknown

 

 

121

(9.8)

Amphetamines

2,481

(54.4)

157

(6.3)

Antidepressants

1,586

(34.8)

68

(4.3)

Cocaine

2,685

(58.8)

422

(15.7)

Marijuana

1,540

(33.8)

308

(20.0)

Opiates

2,392

(52.4)

162

(6.8)

Other drug(s)

2,024

(44.4)

413

(20.4)

* N = 4,563.

Alaska, Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

§ The alcohol variable reflects the blood alcohol content (BAC) of victims using 0.08% as the standard for intoxication. The other substances are indicated if there are any positive results. The levels for these substances are not measured.


TABLE 14. Number* and percentage of homicide/legal intervention deaths, by associated circumstances and victim's sex --- National Violent Death Reporting System, 16 states,§ 2007

Circumstance

Male

Female

Total

No.

(%)

No.

(%)

No.

(%)

Precipitated by another crime

790

(35.7)

172

(23.0)

962

(32.5)

Crime in progress

605

(76.6)

126

(73.3)

731

(76.0)

Argument about money/property

141

(6.4)

25

(3.3)

161

(5.4)

Jealousy (lovers' triangle)

79

(3.6)

40

(5.4)

119

(4.0)

Other argument, abuse, conflict

927

(41.9)

183

(24.5)

1,110

(37.5)

Drug involvement

333

(15.0)

61

(8.2)

394

(13.3)

Justifiable self defense/Law enforcement

230

(10.4)

6

(0.8)

236

(8.0)

Brawl

48

(2.2)

5

(0.7)

53

(1.8)

Mercy killing

1

---

3

(0.4)

4

(0.1)

Victim was a bystander

37

(1.7)

22

(2.9)

59

(2.0)

Victim was a police officer on duty

11

(0.5)

---

---

11

(0.4)

Victim was an intervener assisting a crime victim

17

(0.8)

5

(0.7)

22

(0.7)

Victim used a weapon

304

(13.7)

14

(1.9)

318

(10.7)

Intimate partner-violence--related

211

(9.5)

392

(52.5)

603

(20.4)

Hate crime

5

(0.2)

---

---

5

(0.2)

Mentally ill suspect

42

(1.9)

31

(4.1)

73

(2.5)

Drive-by shooting

95

(4.3)

10

(1.3)

105

(3.5)

Random violence

19

(0.9)

7

(0.9)

26

(0.9)

Gang-related

136

(6.1)

10

(1.3)

146

(4.9)

* N = 2,961 (2,214 males and 747 females). Circumstances were unknown for 1,602 deaths.

Percentages might exceed 100% because multiple circumstances might have been coded.

§ Alaska, Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

Denominator is only cases that were precipitated by another crime.


TABLE 15. Number and percentage* of homicides/legal intervention deaths precipitated by another crime in progress at the time of injury, by type of crime --- National Violent Death Reporting System, 16 states, 2007

Crime type

No.

(%)

Robbery

360

(37.4)

Burglary

89

(9.3)

Assault/Homicide

224

(23.3)

Rape, sexual assault

32

(3.3)

Motor vehicle theft

29

(3.0)

Arson

11

(1.1)

Drug trade

79

(8.2)

Witness intimidation/Elimination

3

(0.3)

Gambling

4

(0.4)

Other

58

(6.0)

Unknown

54

(5.6)

* Percentages might exceed 100% because multiple crimes might have been coded.

Alaska, Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin.


TABLE 16. Number,* percentage, and rate§ of undetermined deaths by method used, and month in which death occurred --- National Violent Death Reporting System, 16 states,** 2007

Characteristic

No.

(%)

Rate

Method

 

 

 

Firearm

64

(2.7)

0.1

Sharp instrument

6

(0.2)

NR††

Blunt instrument

49

(2.0)

0.1

Poisoning

1,563

(65.0)

2.0

Hanging/Strangulation/Suffocation

42

(1.7)

0.1

Personal weapons (hands, feet, fists)

6

(0.2)

NR††

Fall

40

(1.7)

0.1

Drowning

51

(2.1)

0.1

Fire/Burns

19

(0.8)

NR††

Shaking

---

---

NR††

Motor vehicles (e.g., buses, motorcycles, and other transport vehicles)

30

(1.2)

---

Intentional neglect

4

(0.2)

NR††

Other (single method)

95

(4.0)

0.1

Firearm and other method type§§

1

(0.0)

NR††

Poisoning and other method type§§

21

(0.9)

---

Other combination of methods§§

3

(0.1)

NR††

Unknown

409

(17.0)

0.5

Total

2,403

(100.0)

3.0

Month

 

 

 

January

195

(8.1)

0.2

February

208

(8.7)

0.3

March

203

(8.4)

0.3

April

193

(8.0)

0.2

May

201

(8.4)

0.3

June

208

(8.7)

0.3

July

214

(8.9)

0.3

August

217

(9.0)

0.3

September

185

(7.7)

0.2

October

184

(7.7)

0.2

November

185

(7.7)

0.2

December

206

(8.6)

0.3

Unknown

4

(0.2)

NR††

Total

2,403

(100.0)

3.0

* No. victims = 2,403; no. suspects/victims = 0; no. live suspects = 24; no. incidents = 2,389 plus three incidents categorized in "other combinations of deaths" in Table 1.

Percentages might not total 100% because of rounding.

§ Per 100,000 population.

Deaths that result from the use of force or power against oneself or another person for which evidence indicating one manner of death is no more compelling than evidence indicating another.

** Alaska, Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

†† Rates not reported when number of decedents is <20.

§§ Deaths involving more than one method and for which injury evidence indicates one method and for which evidence did not indicate which method caused the fatal injury.


TABLE 17. Number, percentage* and rate of undetermined deaths,§ by victim's sex, age group, race/ethnicity, and marital status --- National Violent Death Reporting System, 16 states, 2007

Male

Female

Total

Characteristic

No.

(%)

Rate

No.

(%)

Rate

No.

(%)

Rate

Age group (yrs)

<1

152

(10.2)

26.4

96

(10.5)

17.5

248

(10.3)

22.0

1--4

16

(1.1)

NR**

14

(1.5)

NR**

30

(1.2)

0.7

5--9

7

(0.5)

NR**

5

(0.5)

NR**

12

(0.5)

NR**

10--14

8

(0.5)

NR**

4

(0.4)

NR**

12

(0.5)

NR**

15--19

59

(4.0)

2.1

12

(1.3)

NR**

71

(3.0)

1.3

20--24

106

(7.1)

3.7

47

(5.1)

1.8

153

(6.4)

2.8

25--29

116

(7.8)

4.1

58

(6.3)

2.1

174

(7.2)

3.1

30--34

113

(7.6)

4.3

67

(7.3)

2.6

180

(7.5)

3.4

35--44

339

(22.8)

5.8

198

(21.7)

3.4

537

(22.3)

4.6

45--54

365

(24.5)

6.3

279

(30.5)

4.6

644

(26.8)

5.5

55--64

146

(9.8)

3.4

88

(9.6)

1.9

234

(9.7)

2.7

65--74

28

(1.9)

1.2

25

(2.7)

0.9

53

(2.2)

1.1

75--84

20

(1.3)

1.5

12

(1.3)

NR**

32

(1.3)

1.0

≥85

6

(0.4)

NR**

9

(1.0)

NR**

15

(0.6)

NR**

Unknown

6

(0.4)

NR**

2

(0.2)

NR**

8

(0.3)

NR**

Total

1,487

(100.0)

3.8

916

(100.0)

2.3

2,403

(100.0)

3.0

Race/ethnicity

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

White, non-Hispanic

1,027

(69.1)

3.7

692

(75.5)

2.4

1,719

(71.5)

3.1

Black, non-Hispanic

312

(21.0)

5.3

149

(16.3)

2.3

461

(19.2)

3.7

A/PI††

8

(0.5)

NR**

5

(0.5)

NR**

13

(0.5)

NR**

AI/AN§§

37

(2.5)

7.5

24

(2.6)

4.7

61

(2.5)

6.1

Hispanic¶¶

95

(6.4)

2.3

44

(4.8)

1.2

139

(5.8)

1.8

Other

8

(0.5)

NR**

2

(0.2)

NR**

10

(0.4)

NR**

Total

1,487

(100.0)

3.8

916

(100.0)

2.3

2,403

(100.0)

3.0

Marital Status***

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Married

307

(24.1)

NR†††

270

(34.1)

NR†††

577

(27.9)

NR†††

Never married

587

(46.1)

NR†††

225

(28.4)

NR†††

812

(39.3)

NR†††

Widowed

33

(2.6)

NR†††

54

(6.8)

NR†††

87

(4.2)

NR†††

Divorced

284

(22.3)

NR†††

219

(27.7)

NR†††

503

(24.3)

NR†††

Married, but separated

4

(0.3)

NR†††

5

(0.6)

NR†††

9

(0.4)

NR†††

Single, not otherwise specified

10

(0.8)

NR†††

5

(0.6)

NR†††

15

(0.7)

NR†††

Unknown

49

(3.8)

NR†††

13

(1.6)

NR†††

65

(3.1)

NR†††

Total

1,274

(100.0)

NR†††

791

(100.0)

NR†††

2,068

(100.0)

NR†††

* Percentages might not total 100% because of rounding.

Per 100,000 population.

§ Deaths that result from the use of force or power against oneself or another person for which evidence indicating one manner of death is no more compelling than evidence indicating another.

Alaska, Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

** Rate not reported when number of decedents is <20.

†† Asian/Pacific Islander.

§§ American Indian/Alaskan Native.

¶¶ Includes persons of all races.

*** Includes only those decedents aged >18 years.

††† Rates cannot be computed for marital status because denominators are unknown.


TABLE 18. Number and percentage* of undetermined deaths, by decedent's sex, method used, and location in which injury occurred --- National Violent Death Reporting System, 16 states,§ 2007

 

Male

Female

Total

Characteristic

No.

(%)

No.

(%)

No.

(%)

Method

 

 

 

 

 

 

Firearm

48

(3.2)

16

(1.7)

64

(2.7)

Sharp instrument

3

(0.2)

3

(0.3)

6

(0.2)

Blunt instrument

33

(2.2)

16

(1.7)

49

(2.0)

Poisoning

946

(63.6)

617

(67.4)

1,563

(65.0)

Hanging/Strangulation/Suffocation

30

(2.0)

12

(1.3)

42

(1.7)

Personal weapons (hands, feet, fists)

4

(0.3)

2

(0.2)

6

(0.2)

Fall

21

(1.4)

19

(2.1)

40

(1.7)

Drowning

33

(2.2)

18

(2.0)

51

(2.1)

Fire/Burns

13

(0.9)

6

(0.7)

19

(0.8)

Shaking

---

---

8

(0.9)

8

(0.3)

Motor vehicles (e.g., buses, motorcycles, and other transport vehicles)

22

(1.5)

---

---

22

(0.9)

Intentional neglect

---

---

4

(0.4)

4

(0.2)

Other (single method)

62

(4.2)

33

(3.6)

95

(4.0)

Firearm and other method type

1

(0.1)

---

---

1

---

Poisoning and other method type

14

(0.9)

7

(0.8)

21

(0.9)

Other combination of methods

1

(0.1)

2

(0.2)

3

(0.1)

Unknown

256

(17.2)

153

(16.7)

409

(17.0)

Total

1,487

(100.0)

916

(100.0)

2,403

(100.0)

Location

 

 

 

 

 

 

House

1,116

(75.1)

757

(82.6)

1,873

(77.9)

Street/Highway

50

(3.4)

21

(2.3)

71

(3.0)

Motor vehicle

16

(1.1)

7

(0.8)

23

(1.0)

Bar/Nightclub

---

---

1

(0.1)

1

---

Commercial/Retail area

5

(0.3)

2

(0.2)

7

(0.3)

Industrial or construction area

5

(0.3)

1

(0.1)

6

(0.2)

Office building

1

(0.1)

---

---

1

---

Parking lot/Public garage

5

(0.3)

5

(0.5)

10

(0.4)

Abandoned house, building or warehouse

5

(0.3)

2

(0.2)

7

(0.3)

Park, playground, sports/Athletic area

7

(0.5)

4

(0.4)

11

(0.5)

Preschool/School/College/School bus

2

(0.1)

---

---

2

(0.1)

Public transportation/Station/Railroad tracks

8

(0.5)

1

(0.1)

9

(0.4)

Hospital or medical facility

8

(0.5)

7

(0.8)

15

(0.6)

Supervised residential facility

28

(1.9)

8

(0.9)

36

(1.5)

Jail/Prison

6

(0.4)

1

(0.1)

7

(0.3)

Farm

4

(0.3)

1

(0.1)

5

(0.2)

Natural area

53

(3.6)

23

(2.5)

76

(3.2)

Hotel/Motel

22

(1.5)

6

(0.7)

28

(1.2)

Other

68

(4.6)

15

(1.6)

83

(3.5)

Unknown

78

(5.2)

54

(5.9)

132

(5.5)

Total

1,487

(100.0)

916

(100.0)

2,403

(100.0)

* Percentages might not total 100% because of rounding.

Deaths that result from the use of force or power against oneself or another person for which evidence indicating one manner of death is no more compelling than evidence indicating another.

§ Alaska, Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

Deaths involving more than one method and for which injury evidence indicates one method and for which evidence did not indicate which method caused the fatal injury.


TABLE 19. Number* and percentage of victims of undetermined intent tested for alcohol and drugs whose results were positive, by toxicology variable --- National Violent Death Reporting System, 16 states,§ 2007

Toxicology variable

Tested

Positive

No.

(%)

No.

(%)

Blood alcohol concentration (BAC)

2,051

(85.4)

578

(28.2)

BAC ≤0.08 g/dL

 

 

227

(39.3)

BAC >0.08 g/dL

 

 

319

(55.2)

Alcohol positive, level unknown

 

 

32

(5.5)

Amphetamines

1,941

(80.8)

89

(4.6)

Antidepressants

1,740

(72.4)

484

(27.8)

Cocaine

2,005

(83.4)

423

(21.1)

Marijuana

1,077

(44.8)

101

(9.4)

Opiates

2,040

(84.9)

1,154

(56.6)

Other drug(s)

1,948

(81.1)

1,059

(54.4)

* N = 2,403.

Deaths that result from the use of force or power against oneself or another person for which evidence indicating one manner of death is no more compelling than evidence indicating another.

§ Alaska, Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

The alcohol variable reflects the blood alcohol content (BAC) of victims using 0.08% as the standard for intoxication. The other substances are indicated if there are any positive results. The levels for these substances are not measured.


TABLE 20. Number* and percentage of deaths of undetermined intent,§ by victim's sex and associated circumstances --- National Violent Death Reporting System, 16 states, 2007

Characteristic

Male

Female

Total

No.

(%)

No.

(%)

No.

(%)

Mental health/Substance abuse

 

 

 

 

 

 

Current depressed mood

117

(10.8)

111

(16.4)

228

(13.0)

Current mental health problem

335

(30.9)

351

(52.0)

686

(39.0)

Current mental health treatment

257

(23.7)

301

(44.6)

558

(31.7)

Alcohol problem

359

(33.1)

146

(21.6)

505

(28.7)

Other substance abuse problem

706

(65.1)

391

(57.9)

1,097

(62.4)

Interpersonal

 

 

 

 

 

 

Intimate partner problem

97

(8.9)

93

(13.8)

190

(10.8)

Other relationship problem (nonintimate)

49

(4.5)

48

(7.1)

97

(5.5)

Suicide of family member or friend within past 5 years

3

(0.3)

4

(0.6)

7

(0.4)

Other death of family member or friend within past 5 years

36

(3.3)

46

(6.8)

82

(4.7)

Perpetrator of interpersonal violence within past month

16

(1.5)

3

(0.4)

19

(1.1)

Victim of interpersonal violence within past month

9

(0.8)

14

(2.1)

23

(1.3)

Life stressor

 

 

 

 

 

 

Crisis in past two weeks

148

(13.7)

115

(17.0)

263

(15.0)

Physical health problem

275

(25.4)

235

(34.8)

510

(29.0)

Job problem

46

(4.2)

17

(2.5)

63

(3.6)

Recent criminal legal problem

47

(4.3)

17

(2.5)

64

(3.6)

Non-criminal legal problem

21

(1.9)

10

(1.5)

31

(1.8)

Financial problem

27

(2.5)

22

(3.3)

49

(2.8)

School problem

3

(0.3)

1

(0.1)

4

(0.2)

Suicide event

 

 

 

 

 

 

Left a suicide note

12

(1.1)

17

(2.5)

29

(1.6)

Disclosed intent to commit suicide

75

(6.9)

51

(7.6)

126

(7.2)

History of suicide attempt(s)

91

(8.4)

93

(13.8)

184

(10.5)

* N = 1,759 (1,084 males and 675 females). Circumstances were unknown for 644 deaths.

Percentages might exceed 100% because multiple circumstances might have been coded.

§ Deaths that result from the use of force or power against oneself or another person for which evidence indicating one manner of death is no more compelling than evidence indicating another.

Alaska, Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin.


TABLE 21. Number* and percentage of victims of undetermined intent§ who had received a diagnosis of a current mental health problem, by diagnosis --- National Violent Death Reporting System, 16 states, 2007

Mental health problem

No.

(%)

Depression/Dysthymia

420

(61.2)

Bipolar disorder

110

(16.0)

Anxiety disorder

86

(12.5)

Schizophrenia

40

(5.8)

PTSD**

14

(2.0)

OCD††

4

(0.6)

ADD/ADHD§§

8

(1.2)

Eating disorder

---

---

Other

30

(4.4)

Unknown

81

(11.8)

* N = 686.

Percentages might exceed 100% because two or more diagnosis categories per person could be coded.

§ Deaths that result from the use of force or power against oneself or another person for which evidence indicating one manner of death is no more compelling than evidence indicating another.

Alaska, Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

** Posttraumatic stress disorder.

†† Obsessive compulsive disorder.

§§ Attention deficit disorder/hyperactivity disorder.


TABLE 22. Number* and percentage of unintentional firearm deaths, by victim's sex, race/ethnicity, age group, month in which the death occurred, and location of injury --- National Violent Death Reporting System, 16 states,§ 2007

Characteristic

No.

(%)

Sex

 

 

Male

97

(90.7)

Female

10

(9.3)

Total

107

(100)

Race/ethnicity

 

 

White, non-Hispanic

73

(68.2)

Black, non-Hispanic

24

(22.4)

A/PI

---

---

AI/AN**

3

(2.8)

Hispanic††

7

(6.5)

Total

107

(100.0)

Age

 

 

<1

---

---

1--4

4

(3.7)

5--9

6

(5.6)

10--14

6

(5.6)

15--19

21

(19.6)

20--24

12

(11.2)

25--29

9

(8.4)

30--34

3

(2.8)


TABLE 22. (Continued) Number* and percentage of unintentional firearm deaths, by victim's sex, race/ethnicity, age group, month in which the death occurred, and location of injury--- National Violent Death Reporting System, 16 states,§ 2007

Characteristic

No.

(%)

Age

35--44

11

(10.3)

45--54

9

(8.4)

55--64

11

(10.3)

65--74

6

(5.6)

75--84

5

(4.7)

≥85

4

(3.7)

Total

107

(100.0)

Month

 

 

January

10

(9.3)

February

10

(9.3)

March

4

(3.7)

April

9

(8.4)

May

8

(7.5)

June

4

(3.7)

July

9

(8.4)

August

9

(8.4)

September

10

(9.3)

October

9

(8.4)

November

19

(17.8)

December

5

(4.7)

Unknown

1

(0.9)

Total

107

(100.0)

Location

 

 

House

69

(64.5)

Street/Highway

2

(1.9)

Motor vehicle

3

(2.8)

Industrial/Construction area

1

(0.9)

Supervised residential facility

1

(0.9)

Farm

1

(0.9)

Natural area

18

(16.8)

Other§§

4

(3.7)

Unknown

8

(7.5)

Total

107

(100.0)

Firearm Type

 

 

Handgun

44

(41.1)

Shotgun

19

(17.8)

Rifle

21

(19.6)

Other firearm

2

(1.9)

Unknown

21

(19.6)

Total

107

(100.0)

* No. incidents = 107; no. decedents = 107; no. live suspects = 35.

Percentages might not total 100% because of rounding.

§ Alaska, Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

Asian/Pacific Islander.

** American Indian/Alaskan Native.

†† Includes persons of any race.

§§ Includes military training exercise, private land campsites, and private hunting land attached to homes.


TABLE 23. Number* and percentage of unintentional firearm deaths, by context and circumstances of injury --- National Violent Death Reporting System, 16 states,§ 2007

Circumstances

No.

(%)

Context of Injury

 

 

Hunting

19

(24.7)

Target shooting

3

(3.9)

Loading/Unloading gun

8

(10.4)

Cleaning gun

5

(6.5)

Showing gun to others

11

(14.3)

Playing with gun

23

(29.9)

Other context of injury

16

(20.8)

Circumstances of injury

 

 

Thought safety was engaged

1

(1.3)

Thought gun was unloaded, magazine disengaged

10

(13.0)

Thought gun was unloaded, other

10

(13.0)

Unintentionally pulled trigger

15

(19.5)

Bullet ricochet

1

(1.3)

Gun defect or malfunction

4

(5.2)

Dropped gun

1

(1.3)

Gun mistaken for toy

1

(1.3)

Other mechanism of injury

20

(26.0)

* N = 77. Circumstances were unknown for 30 deaths.

Percentages might exceed 100% because multiple circumstances might have been coded.

§ Alaska, Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin.


TABLE 24. Number* and percentage of incidents involving multiple violent deaths, by incident type and method used --- National Violent Death Reporting System, 16 states,§ 2007

Characteristic

No.

(%)

Incident type

 

 

Multiple suicides

12

(3.5)

Multiple homicides

148

(42.7)

Homicide followed by suicide

172

(49.6)

Other combinations of deaths

6

(1.7)

Undetermined

9

(2.6)

Total

347

(100.0)

Method

 

 

Firearm

578

(73.7)

Sharp instrument

41

(5.2)

Blunt instrument

26

(3.3)

Poisoning

45

(5.7)

Hanging/Strangulation/Suffocation

41

(5.2)

Personal weapons

3

(0.4)

Drowning

6

(0.8)

Fire/Burns

21

(2.7)

Motor vehicles (e.g., buses, motorcycles, and other transport vehicles)

1

(0.1)

Other, single weapon

5

(0.6)

Firearm and other method type

1

(0.1)

Poisoning and other method type

2

(0.3)

Other combination of methods

5

(0.6)

Unknown

9

(1.1)

Total

784

(100.0)

* No. victims = 784; no. suspects = 368; no. incidents = 347; number of decedents includes 191 homicide suspects who subsequently killed themselves.

Percentages might not total 100% because of rounding.

§ Alaska, Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

Deaths involving more than one method and for which injury evidence indicates one method and for which evidence did not indicate which method caused the fatal injury.


TABLE 25. Number, percentage,* and rate of violent death incidents involving multiple victims, by victim's sex, race/ethnicity, and age group --- National Violent Death Reporting System, 16 states,§ 2007

Characteristic

Victims

Suspects

No.

(%)

Rate

No.

(%)

Sex

Male

461

(58.8)

1.2

334

(90.8)

Female

323

(41.2)

0.8

23

(6.3)

Unknown

---

---

NR**

11

(3.0)

Total

784

(100.0)

0.9

368

(100.0)

Race/Ethnicity

 

 

 

 

 

White, non-Hispanic

447

(57.0)

0.8

162

(44.0)

Black, non-Hispanic

208

(26.5)

1.7

108

(29.4)

A/PI††

25

(3.2)

0.9

8

(2.2)

AI/AN§§

19

(2.4)

NR**

9

(2.5)

Hispanic¶¶

82

(10.5)

1.1

37

(10.1)

Other

3

(0.4)

NR**

43

(11.7)

Unknown

---

---

NR**

1

(0.3)

Total

784

(100.0)

0.9

368

(100.0)

Age

 

 

 

 

 

<1

5

(0.6)

NR**

---

---

1--4

22

(2.8)

0.5

---

---

5--9

23

(2.9)

0.4

---

---

10--14

19

(2.4)

NR**

---

---

15--19

72

(9.2)

1.3

28

(7.6)

20--24

95

(12.1)

1.7

43

(11.7)

25--29

95

(12.1)

1.7

40

(10.9)

30--34

68

(8.7)

1.3

36

(9.8)

35--44

147

(18.8)

1.3

70

(19.0)

45--54

113

(14.4)

1.0

48

(13.0)

55--64

52

(6.6)

0.6

25

(6.8)

65--74

29

(3.7)

0.6

6

(1.6)

75--84

33

(4.2)

1.0

10

(2.7)

≥85

9

(1.1)

NR**

2

(0.5)

Unknown

2

(0.3)

NR**

60

(16.3)

Total

784

(100.0)

0.9

368

(100.0)

* Percentages might not total 100% because of rounding.

Per 100,000 population.

§ Alaska, Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

Number of suspects includes 166 homicide suspects who subsequently committed suicide. Rates cannot be computed for suspects because the number of suspects involved in an incident is not always known.

** Rates not reported when number of decedents is <20.

†† Asian/Pacific Islander.

§§ American Indian/Alaskan Native.

¶¶ Includes persons of any race.


TABLE 26. Number,* percentage, and rate§ of deaths involving a homicide followed by a suicide, by victim's sex, race/ethnicity, age group, and marital status --- National Violent Death Reporting System, 16 states, 2007

Characteristic

Homicide

Suicide

No.

(%)

Rate

No.

(%)

Rate

Sex

 

 

 

 

 

 

Male

66

(27.5)

0.2

160

(93.0)

0.4

Female

174

(72.5)

0.4

12

(7.0)

NR**

Total

240

(100.0)

0.3

172

(100.0)

0.2

Race/ethnicity

 

 

 

 

 

 

White, non-Hispanic

169

(70.4)

0.3

115

(66.9)

0.2

Black, non-Hispanic

33

(13.8)

0.3

27

(15.7)

0.2

A/PI††

9

(3.8)

NR**

7

(4.1)

NR**

AI/AN§§

4

(1.7)

NR**

3

(1.7)

NR**

Hispanic¶¶

22

(9.2)

0.3

20

(11.6)

0.3

Other

3

(1.3)

NR**

---

---

NR**

Total

240

(100.0)

0.3

172

(100.0)

0.2

Age group (yrs)

 

 

 

 

 

 

<1

4

(1.7)

NR**

---

---

NR**

1--4

16

(6.7)

NR**

---

---

NR**

5--9

18

(7.5)

NR**

---

---

NR**

10--14

6

(2.5)

NR**

---

---

NR**

15--19

20

(8.3)

0.4

4

(2.3)

NR**

20--24

23

(9.6)

0.4

12

(7.0)

NR**

25--29

28

(11.7)

0.5

13

(7.6)

NR**

30--34

15

(6.3)

NR**

20

(11.6)

0.4

35--44

46

(19.2)

0.4

54

(31.4)

0.5

45--54

30

(12.5)

0.3

31

(18.0)

0.3

55--64

10

(4.2)

NR**

20

(11.6)

0.2

65--74

9

(3.8)

NR**

6

(3.5)

NR**

75--84

12

(5.0)

NR**

10

(5.8)

NR**

≥85

3

(1.3)

NR**

2

(1.2)

NR**

Unknown

---

---

NR**

---

---

NR**

Total

240

(100.0)

0.3

172

(100.0)

0.2

Marital Status***

 

 

 

 

 

 

Married

66

(34.7)

NR†††

55

(32.4)

NR†††

Never married

60

(31.6)

NR†††

44

(25.9)

NR†††

Widowed

22

(11.6)

NR†††

36

(21.2)

NR†††

Divorced

34

(17.9)

NR†††

27

(15.9)

NR†††

Married, but separated

4

(2.1)

NR†††

3

(1.8)

NR†††

Single, not otherwise specified

3

(1.6)

NR†††

2

(1.2)

NR†††

Unknown

1

(0.5)

NR†††

3

(1.8)

NR†††

Total

190

(100.0)

NR†††

170

(100.0)

NR†††

* N = 172.

Percentages might not total 100% because of rounding.

§ Per 100,000 population.

Alaska, Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

** Rates not reported when number of decedents is <20.

†† Asian/Pacific Islander.

§§ American Indian/Alaskan Native.

¶¶ Includes persons of any race.

*** Includes only decedents age >18 years.

††† Rates for marital status cannot be computed because denominators are unknown.


TABLE 27. Number and percentage* of homicides followed by suicide, by location in which injury occurred and method used --- National Violent Death Reporting System, 16 states, 2007

Characteristic

Decedent

Homicide

Suicide

No.

(%)

No.

(%)

Location

House

181

(75.4)

136

(79.1)

Street/Highway

5

(2.1)

7

(4.1)

Motor vehicle

4

(1.7)

2

(1.2)

Commercial/Retail area

5

(2.1)

2

(1.2)

Industrial or construction area

---

---

1

(0.6)

Office building

2

(0.8)

4

(2.3)

Parking lot/public garage

4

(1.7)

4

(2.3)

Park, playground, sports/Athletic area

4

(1.7)

---

---

Preschool/School/College/School bus

24

(10.0)

1

(0.6)

Public transportation/Station/Railroad tracks

---

---

1

(0.6)

Hospital or medical facility

1

(0.4)

1

(0.6)

Supervised residential facility

---

---

1

(0.6)

Natural area

3

(1.3)

4

(2.3)

Hotel/Motel

1

(0.4)

2

(1.2)

Other

6

(2.5)

5

(2.9)

Unknown

---

---

1

(0.6)

Total

240

(100.0)

172

(100.0)

Method

 

 

 

 

Firearm

192

(80.0)

138

(80.2)

Sharp instrument

6

(2.5)

5

(2.9)

Blunt instrument

6

(2.5)

1

(0.6)

Poisoning

5

(2.1)

8

(4.7)

Hanging/Strangulation/Suffocation

17

(7.1)

11

(6.4)

Personal weapons

2

(0.8)

---

---

Drowning

1

(0.4)

1

(0.6)

Fire/Burns

7

(2.9)

3

(1.7)

Motor vehicle

---

---

1

(0.6)

Other, single weapon

2

(0.8)

1

(0.6)

Poisoning and other method type§

---

---

1

(0.6)

Other combination of methods§

---

---

2

(1.2)

Unknown

2

(0.8)

---

---

Total

240

(100.0)

172

(100.0)

* Percentages might not total 100% because of rounding.

Alaska, Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

§ Deaths involving more than one method and for which injury evidence indicates one method and for which evidence did not indicate which method caused the fatal injury.


TABLE 28. Number* and percentage of homicides followed by suicide, by toxicology variable --- National Violent Death Reporting System, 16 states, 2007

 

Homicide Victim

Suicide Victim

Toxicology variable

Tested

Positive

Tested

Positive

No.

(%)

No.

(%)

No.

(%)

No.

(%)

Blood alcohol concentration (BAC)§

191

(79.6)

35

(18.3)

125

(72.7)

41

(32.8)

BAC ≤ 0.08 g/dL§

 

 

15

(42.9)

 

 

17

(41.5)

BAC >0.08 g/dL§

 

 

17

(48.6)

 

 

22

(53.7)

Alcohol positive, level unknown

 

 

3

(8.6)

 

 

2

(4.9)

Amphetamines

109

(45.4)

6

(5.5)

77

(44.8)

---

---

Antidepressants

86

(35.8)

6

(7.0)

55

(32.0)

6

(10.9)

Cocaine

115

(47.9)

3

(2.6)

84

(48.8)

6

(7.1)

Marijuana

77

(32.1)

2

(2.6)

54

(31.4)

3

(5.6)

Opiates

106

(44.2)

10

(9.4)

75

(43.6)

9

(12.0)

Other Drug(s)

95

(39.6)

30

(31.6)

64

(37.2)

21

(32.8)

* N = 240 homicide victims and 172 suicide victims.

Alaska, Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

§ The alcohol variable reflects the blood alcohol content (BAC) of victims using 0.08% as the standard for intoxication. The other substances are indicated if there are any positive results. The levels for these substances are not measured.


TABLE 29. Number* and percentage of homicide suspects who killed themselves after committing a homicide, by suicide circumstances --- National Violent Death Reporting System, 16 states,§ 2007

Circumstance

No.

(%)

Mental health/Substance abuse

 

 

Current depressed mood

14

(8.3)

Current mental health problem

11

(6.6)

Current mental health treatment

6

(3.6)

Alcohol problem

7

(4.2)

Other substance abuse problem

14

(8.3)

Interpersonal

 

 

Intimate partner problem

136

(81.0)

Other relationship problem (nonintimate)

23

(13.7)

Suicide of family member or friend within past 5 years

1

(0.6)

Other death of family member or friend within past 5 years

21

(12.5)

Perpetrator of interpersonal violence within past month

128

(76.2)

Victim of interpersonal violence within past month

---

---

Life stressor

 

 

Crisis in past two weeks

153

(91.1)

Physical health problem

11

(6.6)

Job problem

4

(2.4)

Recent criminal legal problem

32

(19.1)

Non-criminal legal problem

5

(3.0)

Financial problem

7

(4.2)

School problem

1

(0.6)

Suicide event

 

 

Left a suicide note

29

(17.3)

Disclosed intent to commit suicide

10

(6.0)

History of suicide attempt(s)

3

(1.8)

* N = 168. Circumstances were unknown for four deaths.

Percentages might exceed 100% because multiple circumstances might have been coded.

§ Alaska, Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin.


TABLE 30. Number,* percentage, and rate§ of deaths related to violence by intimate partners, by victim's and suspect's sex, race/ethnicity, age group, and marital status --- National Violent Death Reporting System, 16 states, 2007

Characteristic

Victim

Suspect**

No

(%)

Rate

No

(%)

Sex

 

 

 

 

 

Male*

218

(35.6)

0.6

451

(77.8)

Female

394

(64.4)

1.0

122

(21.0)

Unknown

---

---

NR††

7

(1.2)

Total

612

(100.0)

0.8

580

(100.0)

Race/ethnicity

 

 

 

 

 

White, non-Hispanic

314

(51.3)

0.6

252

(43.5)

Black, non-Hispanic

200

(32.7)

1.6

186

(32.1)

A/PI§§

16

(2.6)

NR††

11

(1.9)

AI/AN¶¶

21

(3.4)

2.1

15

(2.6)

Hispanic***

60

(9.8)

0.8

58

(10.0)

Other

1

(0.2)

NR††

53

(9.1)

Unknown

---

---

NR††

5

(0.9)

Total

612

(100.0)

0.8

580

(100.0)

Age group (yrs)

 

 

 

 

 

<1

6

(1.0)

NR††

---

---

1--4

12

(2.0)

NR††

---

---

5--9

9

(1.5)

NR††

---

---

10--14

5

(0.8)

NR††

---

---

15--19

38

(6.2)

0.7

23

(4.0)

20--24

72

(11.8)

1.3

52

(9.0)

25--29

67

(10.9)

1.2

60

(10.3)

30--34

61

(10.0)

1.2

57

(9.8)

35--44

160

(26.1)

1.4

136

(23.5)

45--54

118

(19.3)

1.0

97

(16.7)

55--64

39

(6.4)

0.4

47

(8.1)

65--74

16

(2.6)

NR††

16

(2.8)

75--84

5

(0.8)

NR††

7

(1.2)

≥85

4

(0.7)

NR††

3

(0.5)

Unknown

---

---

NR††

82

(14.1)

Total

612

(100.0)

0.8

580

(100.0)

Marital Status†††

 

 

 

 

 

Married

213

(37.8)

NR §§§

NR ¶¶¶

NR ¶¶¶

Never Married

179

(31.8)

NR §§§

NR ¶¶¶

NR ¶¶¶

Widowed

30

(5.3)

NR §§§

NR ¶¶¶

NR ¶¶¶

Divorced

116

(20.6)

NR §§§

NR ¶¶¶

NR ¶¶¶

Married, but separated

8

(1.4)

NR §§§

NR ¶¶¶

NR ¶¶¶

Single, not otherwise specified

11

(2.0)

NR §§§

NR ¶¶¶

NR ¶¶¶

Unknown

6

(1.1)

NR §§§

NR ¶¶¶

NR ¶¶¶

Total

563

(100.0)

NR §§§

NR ¶¶¶

NR ¶¶¶

* N = 562. Number of male victims is nine more than Table 14 because their manner of death was undetermined.

Percentages might not total 100% because of rounding.

§ Per 100,000 population.

Alaska, Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

** Rates cannot be calculated for suspects because the number of suspects involved in an incident is not always known.

†† Rates not reported when number of decedents is <20.

§§ Asian/Pacific Islander.

¶¶ American Indian/Alaska Native.

*** Includes persons of any race.

††† Includes only those decedents aged >18 years.

§§§ Rates for marital status cannot be computed because denominators are unknown.

¶¶¶ Data not available.


TABLE 31. Number* and percentage of deaths by intimate partner violence, by toxicology variable --- National Violent Death Reporting System, 16 states, 2007

Toxicology variable

Tested

Positive

No.

(%)

No.

(%)

Blood alcohol concentration (BAC)§

499

(81.5)

169

(33.9)

BAC ≤0.08 g/dL§

 

 

55

(32.5)

BAC >0.08 g/dL§

 

 

102

(60.4)

Alcohol positive, level unknown

 

 

12

(7.1)

Amphetamines

320

(52.3)

11

(3.4)

Antidepressants

231

(37.8)

17

(7.4)

Cocaine

346

(56.5)

44

(12.7)

Marijuana

231

(37.8)

18

(7.8)

Opiates

318

(52.0)

19

(6.0)

Other Drug(s)

264

(43.1)

62

(23.5)

* N = 612.

Alaska, Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

§ The alcohol variable reflects the blood alcohol content (BAC) of victims using 0.08% as the standard for intoxication. The other substances are indicated if there are any positive results. The levels for these substances are not measured.


TABLE 32. Number and percentage* of suicides among former or current military personnel, by sex, race/ethnicity, age group, marital status, and method used --- National Violent Death Reporting System, 16 states, 2007

Characteristic

No.

(%)

Sex of victim

 

 

Male

1,713

(96.6)

Female

61

(3.4)

Total

1,774

(100.0)

Race/ethnicity

 

 

White, non-Hispanic

1,627

(91.7)

Black, non-Hispanic

91

(5.1)

A/PI§

5

(0.3)

AI/AN

10

(0.6)

Hispanic**

41

(2.3)

Total

1,774

(100.0)

Age of victim

 

 

<19

8

(0.5)

20--24

59

(3.3)

25--29

64

(3.6)

30--34

53

(3.0)

35--44

230

(13.0)

45--54

324

(18.3)

55--64

358

(20.2)

65--74

253

(14.3)

75--84

312

(17.6)

≥85

113

(6.4)

Total

1,774

(100.0)

Marital status††

 

 

Married

832

(46.9)

Never married

242

(13.6)

Widowed

215

(12.1)


TABLE 32. (Continued) Number and percentage* of suicides among former or current military personnel, by sex, race/ethnicity, age group, marital status, and method used --- National Violent Death Reporting System, 16 states, 2007

Characteristic

No.

(%)

Marital status††

 

 

Divorced

457

(25.8)

Married, but separated

8

(0.5)

Single, not otherwise specified

12

(0.7)

Unknown

7

(0.4)

Total

1,773

(100.0)

Method

 

 

Firearm

1,193

(67.2)

Sharp instrument

27

(1.5)

Poisoning

218

(12.3)

Hanging/Strangulation/Suffocation

258

(14.5)

Fall

18

(1.0)

Drowning

8

(0.5)

Fire/Burns

4

(0.2)

Motor vehicle

12

(0.7)

Intentional neglect

1

(0.1)

Other (single method)

3

(0.2)

Poisoning and other method type§§

5

(0.3)

Other combination of methods§§

3

(0.2)

Unknown

24

(1.4)

Total

1,774

(100.0)

*Percentages might not total 100% because of rounding.

†Alaska, Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

§Asian/Pacific Islander.

¶American Indian/Alaska Native.

**Includes persons of any race.

††Includes only those decedents aged >18 years.

§§Deaths involving more than one method and for which injury evidence indicates one method and for which evidence did not indicate which method caused the fatal injury.


TABLE 33. Number* and percentage of suicides by former or current military personnel, by toxicology variable --- National Violent Death Reporting System, 16 states, 2007

Toxicology variable

Tested

Positive

No.

(%)

No.

(%)

Blood alcohol concentration (BAC)§

1,139

(64.2)

360

(31.6)

BAC ≤0.08 g/dL§

 

 

121

(33.6)

BAC >0.08 g/dL§

 

 

231

(64.2)

Alcohol positive, level unknown

 

 

8

(2.2)

Amphetamines

638

(36.0)

15

(2.4)

Antidepressants

561

(31.6)

136

(24.2)

Cocaine

672

(37.9)

35

(5.2)

Marijuana

511

(28.8)

21

(4.1)

Opiates

669

(37.7)

135

(20.2)

Other drug(s)

593

(33.4)

292

(49.2)

* N = 1,774.

Alaska, Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

§ The alcohol variable reflects the blood alcohol content (BAC) of victims using 0.08% as the standard for intoxication. The other substances are indicated if there are any positive results. The levels for these substances are not measured.


TABLE 34. Number* and percentage of suicides among former or current military personnel, by associated circumstances --- National Violent Death Reporting System, 16 states,§ 2007

Circumstance

No.

(%)

Mental health/Substance abuse

Current depressed mood

659

(43.2)

Current mental health problem

561

(36.8)

Current mental health treatment

418

(27.4)

Alcohol problem

250

(16.4)

Other substance abuse problem

121

(7.9)

Interpersonal

 

 

Intimate partner problem

384

(25.2)

Other relationship problem (nonintimate)

127

(8.3)

Suicide of family member or friend within past 5 years

29

(1.9)

Other death of family member or friend within past 5 years

109

(7.1)

Perpetrator of interpersonal violence within past month

68

(4.5)

Victim of interpersonal violence within past month

3

(0.2)

Life stressor

 

 

Crisis in past two weeks

494

(32.4)

Physical health problem

567

(37.2)

Job problem

168

(11.0)

Recent criminal legal problem

115

(7.5)

Financial problem

153

(10.0)

Non-criminal legal problem

49

(3.2)

School problem

1

(0.1)

Suicide event

 

 

Left a suicide note

529

(34.7)

Disclosed intent to commit suicide

411

(26.9)

History of suicide attempt(s)

210

(13.8)

* N = 1,526. Circumstances were unknown for 248 deaths.

Percentages might exceed 100% because multiple circumstances might have been coded.

§ Alaska, Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin.


TABLE 35. Number* and percentage of deaths caused by legal intervention, by victim's race/ethnicity, marital status, and location where injury occurred --- National Violent Death Reporting System, 16 states,§ 2007

Characteristic

No.

(%)

Race/ethnicity

 

 

White, non-Hispanic

66

(45.5)

Black, non-Hispanic

51

(35.2)

A/PI

1

(0.7)

AI/AN**

1

(0.7)

Hispanic††

26

(17.9)

Total

145

(100.0)

Marital status§§

 

 

Married

30

(21.9)

Never married

63

(46.0)

Widowed

3

(2.2)

Divorced

31

(22.6)

Married, but separated

1

(0.7)

Single, not otherwise specified

6

(4.4)

Unknown

3

(2.2)

Total

137

(100.0)

Location of injury

 

 

House

55

(37.9)

Street/Highway

46

(31.7)

Motor vehicle

5

(3.4)

Commercial/Retail area

5

(3.4)

Industrial or construction area

1

(0.7)

Parking lot/Public garage

13

(9.0)

Park, playground, sports/athletic area

4

(2.8)

Hospital or medical facility

1

(0.7)

Jail/Prison

2

(1.4)

Natural area

6

(4.1)

Hotel/Motel

1

(0.7)

Other

3

(2.1)

Unknown

3

(2.1)

Total

145

(100.0)

* No. incidents = 141; no. victim decedents = 141; no. suspect decedents = 4. Number of incidents is four more than the number provided in Table 1. Four of the "other combinations of death" included at least one legal intervention death.

Percentages might not total 100% because of rounding.

§ Alaska, Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

Asian/Pacific Islander.

** American Indian/Alaska Native.

†† Includes persons of any race.

§§ Includes only those victims aged >18 years.


TABLE 36. Number and percentage* of deaths caused by legal intervention, by sex and age group --- National Violent Death Reporting System, 16 states, 2007

Male

Female

Total

Characteristic

No.

(%)

No.

(%)

No.

(%)

Age

<1

---

---

---

---

---

---

1--4

---

---

---

---

---

---

5--9

---

---

---

---

---

---

10--14

---

---

---

---

---

---

15--19

11

(7.7)

---

---

11

(7.6)

20--24

29

(20.4)

---

---

29

(20.0)

25--29

23

(16.2)

---

---

23

(15.9)

30--34

22

(15.5)

---

---

22

(15.2)

35--44

30

(21.10

1

(33.3)

31

(21.4)

45--54

17

(12.0)

2

(66.7)

19

(13.10

55--64

4

(2.8)

---

---

4

(2.8)

65--74

5

(3.5)

---

---

5

(3.4)

75--84

1

(0.7)

---

---

1

(0.7)

≥85

---

---

---

---

---

---

Total

142

(100.0)

3

(100.0)

145

(100.0)

* Percentages might not total 100% because of rounding.

Alaska, Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin.


TABLE 37. Number* and percentage of deaths caused by legal intervention, by toxicology variable --- National Violent Death Reporting System, 16 states, 2007

Toxicology variable

Tested

Positive

No.

(%)

No.

(%)

Blood alcohol concentration (BAC)§

127

(87.6)

49

(38.6)

BAC ≤0.08 g/dL§

 

 

15

(30.6)

BAC >0.08 g/dL§

 

 

33

(67.4)

Alcohol positive, level unknown

 

 

1

(2.0)

Amphetamines

98

(67.6)

20

(20.4)

Antidepressants

74

(51.0)

4

(5.4)

Cocaine

110

(75.9)

27

(24.6)

Marijuana

72

(49.7)

22

(30.6)

Opiates

108

(74.5)

10

(9.3)

Other drug(s)

87

(60.0)

25

(28.7)

* N = 145.

Alaska, Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

§ The alcohol variable reflects the blood alcohol content (BAC) of victims using 0.08% as the standard for intoxication. The other substances are indicated if there are any positive results. The levels for these substances are not measured.


TABLE 38. Number,* percentage, and rate§ of suicides among persons aged ≥50 years, by age group, sex, race/ethnicity, marital status, location in which injury occurred, and method --- National Violent Death Reporting System, 16 states, 2007

Age in Years

50--59

60--69

70--79

≥80

Total

No.

(%)

Rate

No.

(%)

Rate

No.

(%)

Rate

No.

(%)

Rate

No.

(%)

Rate

Sex

 

 

 

Male

1,307

(74.3)

25.5

688

(76.3)

21.6

501

(85.9)

28.4

379

(87.7)

40.0

2,875

(78.2)

26.1

Female

453

(25.7)

8.4

214

(23.7)

6.0

82

(14.1)

3.6

53

(12.3)

3.0

802

(21.8)

5.1

Total

1,760

(100.0)

16.7

902

(100.0)

13.4

583

(100.0)

14.4

432

(100.0)

15.8

3,677

(100.0)

15.3

Race/ethnicity

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

White, non-Hispanic

1,599

(90.9)

19.7

843

(93.5)

15.5

544

(93.3)

16.2

417

(96.5)

17.7

3,403

(92.5)

17.7

Black, non-Hispanic

65

(3.7)

4.6

25

(2.8)

3.3

14

(2.4)

NR**

7

(1.6)

NR**

111

(3.0)

3.9

A/PI††

18

(1.0)

NR**

9

(1.0)

NR**

4

(0.7)

NR**

4

(0.9)

NR**

35

(1.0)

5.6

AI/AN§§

16

(0.9)

NR**

4

(0.4)

NR**

7

(1.2)

NR**

---

---

NR**

27

(0.7)

11.7

Hispanic¶¶

58

(3.3)

10.1

20

(2.2)

6.9

13

(2.2)

NR**

4

(0.9)

NR**

95

(2.6)

8.6

Other

3

(0.2)

NR**

1

(0.1)

NR**

1

(0.2)

NR**

---

---

NR**

5

(0.1)

NR**

Unknown

1

---

NR**

---

---

NR**

---

---

NR**

---

---

NR**

1

---

NR**

Total

1,760

(100.0)

16.7

902

(100.0)

13.4

583

(100.0)

14.4

432

(100.0)

15.8

3,677

(100.0)

15.3

Marital Status

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Married

791

(44.9)

NR***

449

(49.8)

NR***

288

(49.4)

NR***

170

(39.4)

NR***

1,698

(46.2)

NR***

Never married

221

(12.6)

NR***

65

(7.2)

NR***

29

(5.0)

NR***

22

(5.1)

NR***

337

(9.2)

NR***

Widowed

87

(4.9)

NR***

88

(9.8)

NR***

150

(25.7)

NR***

200

(46.3)

NR***

525

(14.3)

NR***

Divorced

611

(34.7)

NR***

286

(31.7)

NR***

112

(19.2)

NR***

35

(8.1)

NR***

1,044

(28.4)

NR***

Married, but separated

10

(0.6)

NR***

3

(0.3)

NR***

2

(0.3)

NR***

---

---

NR***

15

(0.4)

NR***

Single, not otherwise specified

17

(1.0)

NR***

2

(0.2)

NR***

1

(0.2)

NR***

2

(0.5)

NR***

22

(0.6)

NR***

Unknown

23

(1.3)

NR***

9

(1.0)

NR***

1

(0.2)

NR***

3

(0.7)

NR***

36

(1.0)

NR***

Total

1,760

(100.0)

NR***

902

(100.0)

NR***

583

(100.0)

NR***

432

(100.0)

NR***

3,677

(100.0)

NR***

Location

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

House

1,372

(78.0)

13.0

736

(81.6)

11.0

512

(87.8)

12.6

392

(90.5)

14.3

3,012

(81.9)

12.5

Street/Highway

48

(2.7)

0.5

18

(2.0)

NR**

13

(2.2)

NR**

5

(1.2)

NR**

84

(2.3)

0.3

Motor vehicle

45

(2.6)

0.4

14

(1.6)

NR**

2

(0.3)

NR**

5

(1.2)

NR**

66

(1.8)

0.3

Bar/Nightclub

1

(0.1)

NR**

---

---

NR**

---

---

NR**

---

---

NR**

1

---

NR**

Commercial/Retail area

4

(0.2)

NR**

5

(0.6)

NR**

2

(0.3)

NR**

1

(0.2)

NR**

12

(0.3)

NR**

Industrial or construction area

7

(0.4)

NR**

---

---

NR**

1

(0.2)

NR**

---

---

NR**

8

(0.2)

NR**

Office building

7

(0.4)

NR**

3

(0.3)

NR**

---

---

NR**

1

(0.2)

NR**

11

(0.3)

NR**

Parking lot/Public garage

27

(1.5)

0.3

10

(1.1)

NR**

4

(0.7)

NR**

3

(0.7)

NR**

44

(1.2)

0.2

Abandoned house, building, or warehouse

---

---

NR**

---

---

NR**

---

---

NR**

---

---

NR**

---

---

NR**

Park, playground, sports/Athletic area

21

(1.2)

0.2

14

(1.6)

NR**

8

(1.4)

NR**

2

(0.5)

NR**

45

(1.2)

0.2

Preschool/School/College/School bus

1

(0.1)

NR**

---

---

NR**

---

---

NR**

---

---

NR**

1

---

NR**

Public transportation/Station/Railroad tracks

6

(0.3)

NR**

1

(0.1)

NR**

1

(0.2)

NR**

1

(0.2)

NR**

9

(0.2)

NR**

Hospital or medical facility

9

(0.5)

NR**

5

(0.6)

NR**

2

(0.3)

NR**

2

(0.5)

NR**

18

(0.5)

NR**

Supervised residential facility

10

(0.6)

NR**

3

(0.3)

NR**

1

(0.2)

NR**

2

(0.5)

NR**

16

(0.4)

NR**

Jail/Prison

10

(0.6)

NR**

4

(0.4)

NR**

---

---

NR**

---

---

NR**

14

(0.4)

NR**

Farm

5

(0.3)

NR**

2

(0.2)

NR**

6

(1.0)

NR**

1

(0.2)

NR**

14

(0.4)

NR**

Natural area

83

(4.7)

0.8

32

(3.5)

0.5

11

(1.9)

NR**

5

(1.2)

NR**

131

(3.6)

0.5

Hotel/Motel

36

(2.0)

0.3

10

(1.1)

NR**

4

(0.7)

NR**

2

(0.5)

NR**

52

(1.4)

0.2

Other

47

(2.7)

0.4

20

(2.2)

0.3

10

(1.7)

NR**

7

(1.6)

NR**

84

(2.3)

0.3

Unknown

21

(1.2)

0.2

25

(2.8)

0.4

6

(1.0)

NR**

3

(0.7)

NR**

55

(1.5)

0.2

Total

1,760

(100.0)

16.7

902

(100.0)

13.4

583

(100.0)

14.4

432

(100.0)

15.8

3,677

(100.0)

15.3


TABLE 38. (Continued) Number,* percentage, and rate§ of suicides among persons aged ≥50 years, by age group, sex, race/ethnicity, marital status, location in which injury occurred, and method --- National Violent Death Reporting System, 16 states, 2007

Age in Years

50--59

60--69

70--79

≥80

Total

No.

(%)

Rate

No.

(%)

Rate

No.

(%)

Rate

No.

(%)

Rate

No.

%

Rate

Method

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Firearm

877

(49.8)

8.3

569

(63.1)

8.5

449

(77.0)

11.1

332

(76.9)

12.1

2,227

(60.6)

9.3

Sharp instrument

38

(2.2)

0.4

26

(2.9)

0.4

5

(0.9)

NR**

7

(1.6)

NR**

76

(2.1)

0.3

Blunt instrument

2

(0.1)

NR**

---

---

NR**

---

---

NR**

---

---

NR**

2

(0.1)

NR**

Poisoning

470

(26.7)

4.5

164

(18.2)

2.4

57

(9.8)

1.4

31

(7.2)

1.1

722

(19.6)

3.0

Hanging/Strangulation/Suffocation

271

(15.4)

2.6

99

(11.0)

1.5

49

(8.4)

1.2

43

(10.0)

1.6

462

(12.6)

1.9

Fall

27

(1.5)

0.3

11

(1.2)

NR**

5

(0.9)

NR**

7

(1.6)

NR**

50

(1.4)

0.2

Drowning

19

(1.1)

NR**

11

(1.2)

NR**

6

(1.0)

NR**

4

(0.9)

NR**

40

(1.1)

0.2

Fire/Burns

6

(0.3)

NR**

1

(0.1)

NR**

1

(0.2)

NR**

1

(0.2)

NR**

9

(0.2)

NR**

Motor vehicle

19

(1.1)

NR**

6

(0.7)

NR**

1

(0.2)

NR**

1

(0.2)

NR**

27

(0.7)

0.1

Other (single method)

7

(0.4)

NR**

3

(0.3)

NR**

1

(0.2)

NR**

1

(0.2)

NR**

12

(0.3)

NR**

Firearm and poisoning†††

---

---

NR**

---

---

NR**

---

---

NR**

---

---

NR**

---

---

NR**

Firearm and other method type†††

---

---

NR**

1

(0.1)

NR**

---

---

NR**

---

---

NR**

1

---

NR**

Poisoning and other method type†††

5

(0.3)

NR**

3

(0.3)

NR**

1

(0.2)

NR**

1

(0.2)

NR**

10

(0.3)

NR**

Other combination of methods††

1

(0.1)

NR**

1

(0.1)

NR**

---

---

NR**

1

(0.2)

NR**

3

(0.1)

NR**

Unknown

18

(1.0)

NR**

7

(0.8)

NR**

8

(1.4)

NR**

3

(0.7)

NR**

36

(1.0)

0.1

Total

1,760

(100.0)

16.7

902

(100.0)

13.4

583

(100.0)

14.4

432

(100.0)

15.8

3,677

(100.0)

15.3

* No. incidents = 3,671; no. decedents = 3,677.

Percentages might not total 100% because of rounding.

§ Per 100,000 population.

Alaska, Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

** Rates not reported when number of decedents is <20.

†† Asian/Pacific Islander.

§§ American Indian/Alaskan Native.

¶¶ Includes persons of any race.

*** Rates for marital status cannot be computed because denominators are unknown.

††† Deaths involving more than one method and for which injury evidence indicates one method and for which evidence did not indicate which method caused the fatal injury.


TABLE 39. Number* and percentage of suicides among persons aged ≥50 years, by age group and associated circumstances --- National Violent Death Reporting System, 16 states,§ 2007

Associated circumstances

50--59

60--69

70--79

≥80

Total

No.

(%)

No.

(%)

No.

(%)

No.

(%)

No.

(%)

Mental health/Substance abuse

 

Current depressed mood

680

(38.6)

351

(38.9)

227

(38.9)

178

(41.2)

1,436

(39.1)

Current mental health problem

803

(45.6)

356

(39.5)

187

(32.1)

93

(21.5)

1,439

(39.1)

Current mental health treatment

597

(33.9)

296

(32.8)

146

(25.0)

59

(13.7)

1,098

(29.9)

Alcohol problem

348

(19.8)

117

(13.0)

34

(5.8)

8

(1.9)

507

(13.8)

Other substance abuse problem

189

(10.7)

33

(3.7)

6

(1.0)

1

(0.2)

229

(6.2)

Interpersonal

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Intimate partner problem

378

(21.5)

107

(11.9)

40

(6.9)

18

(4.2)

543

(14.8)

Other relationship problem (nonintimate)

164

(9.3)

71

(7.9)

25

(4.3)

12

(2.8)

272

(7.4)

Suicide of family member or friend during previous past 5 years

23

(1.3)

9

(1.0)

6

(1.0)

6

(1.4)

44

(1.2)

Other death of family member or friend during previous 5 years

118

(6.7)

54

(6.0)

47

(8.1)

47

(10.9)

266

(7.2)

Perpetrator of interpersonal violence within previous month

63

(3.6)

25

(2.8)

12

(2.1)

6

(1.4)

106

(2.9)

Victim of interpersonal violence within previous month

3

(0.2)

---

---

---

---

---

---

3

(0.1)

Life stressor

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Crisis in past 2 weeks

405

(23.0)

172

(19.1)

127

(21.8)

78

(18.1)

782

(21.3)

Physical health problem

367

(20.9)

301

(33.4)

298

(51.1)

247

(57.2)

1,213

(33.0)

Job problem

239

(13.6)

51

(5.7)

8

(1.4)

1

(0.2)

299

(8.1)

Recent criminal legal problem

128

(7.3)

46

(5.1)

6

(1.0)

2

(0.5)

182

(4.9)

Non-criminal legal problem

59

(3.4)

13

(1.4)

3

(0.5)

4

(0.9)

79

(2.1)

Financial problem

243

(13.8)

101

(11.2)

19

(3.3)

6

(1.4)

369

(10.0)

School problem

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

Suicide event

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Left a suicide note

597

(33.9)

260

(28.8)

146

(25.0)

128

(29.6)

1,131

(30.8)

Disclosed intent to commit suicide

448

(25.5)

210

(23.3)

150

(25.7)

99

(22.9)

907

(24.7)

History of suicide attempt(s)

326

(18.5)

118

(13.1)

51

(8.7)

24

(5.6)

519

(14.1)

* N = 3,172. Circumstances were unknown for 505 deaths.

Percentages might exceed 100% because multiple circumstances might have been coded.

§ Alaska, Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin.



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