QuickStats: Percentage of Suicides* and Homicides Involving a Firearm Among Persons Aged ≥10 Years, by Age Group — National Vital Statistics System, United States, 2020§

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Figure is a bar graph indicating the percentage of suicides and homicides among persons aged ≥10 years in the United States in 2020 that involved a firearm, by age group, based on data from the National Vital Statistics System.

Abbreviation: ICD-10 = International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision.

* Suicide was identified using ICD-10 underlying cause-of-death codes U03, X60–X84, and Y87.0. Firearm-involved suicide was identified using ICD-10 underlying cause-of-death codes X72–X74.

Homicide was identified using ICD-10 underlying cause-of-death codes U01–U02, X85–Y09, and Y87.1. Firearm-involved homicide was identified using ICD-10 underlying cause-of-death codes U01.4 and X93–X95.

§ In 2020, approximately 8 in 10 homicides and 5 in 10 suicides in the United States involved firearms. Additional information on firearm homicide and firearm suicide rates during 2019–2020 is available at https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/71/wr/mm7119e1.htm

In 2020, among persons aged ≥10 years, the percentage of suicide deaths that involved a firearm was lowest among those aged 25–44 years (45.1%) and highest among those aged ≥65 years (70.8%). The percentage of homicide deaths that involved a firearm decreased with age, from 91.6% among those aged 10–24 years to 46.0% among those aged ≥65 years. Persons aged ≥65 years had the highest percentage of suicide deaths that involved a firearm but the lowest percentage of homicide deaths that involved a firearm.

Source: National Vital Statistics System, Mortality Data, 2020. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/deaths.htm

Reported by: Matthew F. Garnett, MPH, Mgarnett@cdc.gov, 301-458-4383; Sally C. Curtin, MA; Merianne R. Spencer, MPH.

For more information on this topic, CDC recommends the following links: https://www.cdc.gov/suicide and https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention


Suggested citation for this article: QuickStats: Percentage of Suicides and Homicides Involving a Firearm Among Persons Aged ≥10 Years, by Age Group — National Vital Statistics System, United States, 2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2022;71:670. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7119a5external icon.

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