Creating Nonfatal Firearm Violence Rates for all US Counties

• In Event: Quantitative Advances in Firearms Research

Abstract

Record numbers of Americans have been impacted by firearm violence since 2020, and for every person killed by a firearm, there are multiple people, on average, who are injured but survive. Unfortunately, nonfatal firearm violence is not well documented or understood, perpetuating an underfunded and underinformed ecosystem of research, etiology, and prevention. We lack even basic data on how many and where nonfatal firearm incidents occur. This project uses multiple data sources and modeling to create fatal and nonfatal firearm violence estimates for all US counties, which is something the field has been calling for. Data sources include the National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS), the National Vital Statistics System (NVSS), and an array of ancillary county-level measures of interest, such as demographics, the proximity of trauma centers, and gun-related policies. Having reliable, county-level estimates of the burden of nonfatal firearm violence will inform and fortify the development and implementation of data-informed injury prevention interventions and policies, and help to stem the tide of firearm violence throughout the United States.

Authors

• Christopher P. Krebs, RTI International

• Josie Caves Sivaraman, RTI International

• JD Bunker, RTI International

• Philip Lee, RTI International

• Dan Liao, RTI International

• Marcus Berzofsky, RTI International