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. 2024 Jul 11;73(5):1–44. doi: 10.15585/mmwr.ss7305a1

TABLE 4. Number, percentage,* and rate of homicides, by selected demographic characteristics of decedent, method of injury used, location in which injury occurred, incident characteristics, and victim-suspect relationship§ — National Violent Death Reporting System, 48 states and District of Columbia, 2021.

Characteristic Male
Female
Total
No. (%) Rate No. (%) Rate No. (%) Rate
Age group, yrs
<1
137 (<1.0)
8.8
98 (2.3)
6.6
236 (1.1)
7.7
1–4
160 (<1.0)
2.4
106 (2.5)
1.7
266 (1.2)
2.0
5–9
91 (<1.0)
1.0
72 (1.7)
0.9
163 (<1.0)
0.9
10–14
171 (<1.0)
1.8
76 (1.8)
0.9
247 (1.1)
1.4
15–19
2,058 (11.4)
21.8
323 (7.6)
3.6
2,381 (10.7)
12.9
20–24
2,879 (16.0)
30.6
469 (11.0)
5.2
3,348 (15.0)
18.1
25–29
2,888 (16.0)
29.6
543 (12.7)
5.7
3,431 (15.4)
17.8
30–34
2,534 (14.1)
25.4
497 (11.6)
5.1
3,031 (13.6)
15.3
35–44
3,360 (18.7)
18.0
776 (18.2)
4.2
4,136 (18.6)
11.1
45–54
1,841 (10.2)
10.6
527 (12.3)
3.0
2,368 (10.6)
6.8
55–64
1,190 (6.6)
6.6
365 (8.5)
2.0
1,555 (7.0)
4.2
65–74
521 (2.9)
3.9
251 (5.9)
1.7
772 (3.5)
2.7
75–84
149 (<1.0)
2.5
117 (2.7)
1.5
266 (1.2)
2.0
≥85
34 (<1.0)
1.9
51 (1.2)
1.6
85 (<1.0)
1.7
Unknown
2 (<1.0)
—**
0 (0.0)

3 (<1.0)

Race and ethnicity††
American Indian or Alaska Native
203 (1.1)
18.0
58 (1.4)
5.0
261 (1.2)
11.4
Asian
164 (<1.0)
2.1
81 (1.9)
1.0
245 (1.1)
1.5
Black or African American
11,003 (61.1)
62.5
1,857 (43.5)
9.7
12,860 (57.7)
35.0
Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander
24 (<1.0)
11.7
5 (<1.0)

29 (<1.0)
7.1
White
3,484 (19.3)
4.0
1,586 (37.1)
1.8
5,071 (22.8)
2.9
More than one race
168 (<1.0)
5.2
71 (1.7)
2.2
239 (1.1)
3.7
Hispanic or Latino
2,885 (16.0)
12.3
591 (13.8)
2.6
3,476 (15.6)
7.5
Unspecified or unknown
84 (<1.0)

22 (<1.0)

107 (<1.0)

Method
Firearm
14,942 (82.9)
10.7
2,872 (67.2)
2.0
17,815 (79.9)
6.3
Sharp instrument
1,322 (7.3)
0.9
493 (11.5)
0.3
1,815 (8.1)
0.6
Blunt instrument
481 (2.7)
0.3
243 (5.7)
0.2
724 (3.2)
0.3
Personal weapons (e.g., hands, feet, or fists)
397 (2.2)
0.3
143 (3.3)
0.1
540 (2.4)
0.2
Hanging, strangulation, or suffocation
138 (<1.0)
0.1
187 (4.4)
0.1
326 (1.5)
0.1
Motor vehicles (e.g., buses, motorcycles, or other transport vehicles)
99 (<1.0)
<0.1
43 (1.0)
<0.1
142 (<1.0)
<0.1
Poisoning
56 (<1.0)
<0.1
46 (1.1)
<0.1
102 (<1.0)
<0.1
Fire or burns
51 (<1.0)
<0.1
29 (<1.0)
<0.1
80 (<1.0)
<0.1
Fall
28 (<1.0)
<0.1
16 (<1.0)

44 (<1.0)
<0.1
Intentional neglect
15 (<1.0)

24 (<1.0)
<0.1
39 (<1.0)
<0.1
Shaking (e.g., shaken baby syndrome)
24 (<1.0)
<0.1
11 (<1.0)

35 (<1.0)
<0.1
Drowning
16 (<1.0)

9 (<1.0)

25 (<1.0)
<0.1
Other (e.g., Taser, electrocution, or nail gun)
33 (<1.0)

8 (<1.0)

41 (<1.0)

Unknown
413 (2.3)

147 (3.4)

560 (2.5)

Location of injury
House or apartment
6,458 (35.8)
4.6
2,548 (59.7)
1.8
9,007 (40.4)
3.2
Street or highway
4,451 (24.7)
3.2
451 (10.6)
0.3
4,902 (22.0)
1.7
Motor vehicle
2,011 (11.2)
1.4
414 (9.7)
0.3
2,426 (10.9)
0.9
Parking lot, public garage, or public transport
960 (5.3)
0.7
110 (2.6)
<0.1
1,070 (4.8)
0.4
Commercial or retail area
922 (5.1)
0.7
102 (2.4)
<0.1
1,024 (4.6)
0.4
Hotel or motel
279 (1.5)
0.2
86 (2.0)
<0.1
365 (1.6)
0.1
Natural area
246 (1.4)
0.2
66 (1.5)
<0.1
312 (1.4)
0.1
Bar or nightclub
276 (1.5)
0.2
25 (<1.0)
<0.1
301 (1.4)
0.1
Park, playground, sports, or athletic area
248 (1.4)
0.2
40 (<1.0)
<0.1
288 (1.3)
0.1
Jail or prison
122 (<1.0)
<0.1
2 (<1.0)

124 (<1.0)
<0.1
Other location§§
689 (3.8)

143 (3.3)

832 (3.7)

Unknown
1,353 (7.5)

284 (6.6)

1,637 (7.3)

Incident characteristic
Emergency medical services present
12,847 (71.3)
9.2
2,862 (67.0)
2.0
15,710 (70.5)
5.5
Injured at victim’s home
3,360 (18.7)
2.4
1,944 (45.5)
1.4
5,305 (23.8)
1.9
Child present or witnessed incident
1,295 (7.2)
0.9
660 (15.5)
0.5
1,955 (8.8)
0.7
Victim was suspected of alcohol use preceding the incident
1,282 (7.1)
0.9
243 (5.7)
0.2
1,525 (6.8)
0.5
Victim was experiencing homelessness
460 (2.6)
0.3
65 (1.5)
<0.1
525 (2.4)
0.2
Victim was injured at work or while working
333 (1.8)
0.2
79 (1.8)
<0.1
412 (1.8)
0.2
Victim was recently released from or admitted to an institutional setting
243 (1.3)
0.2
54 (1.3)
<0.1
297 (1.3)
0.1
Victim was experiencing housing instability
205 (1.1)
0.2
66 (1.5)
<0.1
271 (1.2)
0.1
Victim was in public custody when injury occurred
226 (1.3)
0.2
9 (<1.0)

235 (1.1)
<0.1
Relationship of victim to suspect¶¶
Acquaintance or friend
1,462 (29.1)
1.0
211 (9.3)
0.2
1,673 (23.0)
0.6
Spouse or intimate partner (current or former)
374 (7.5)
0.3
1,155 (51.0)
0.8
1,529 (21.0)
0.5
Other person, known to victim
1,150 (22.9)
0.8
201 (8.9)
0.1
1,351 (18.5)
0.5
Stranger
910 (18.1)
0.7
157 (6.9)
0.1
1,067 (14.6)
0.4
Other relative
403 (8.0)
0.3
147 (6.5)
0.1
550 (7.6)
0.2
Parent***
251 (5.0)
0.2
181 (8.0)
0.1
432 (5.9)
0.2
Child***
251 (5.0)
0.2
170 (7.5)
0.1
422 (5.8)
0.2
Child of suspect’s boyfriend or girlfriend (e.g., child killed by mom's boyfriend)
65 (1.3)
<0.1
33 (1.5)
<0.1
98 (1.3)
<0.1
Rival gang member
78 (1.6)
<0.1
3 (<1.0)

81 (1.1)
<0.1
Other relationship†††
74 (1.5)

7 (<1.0)

81 (1.1)

Total 18,015 (100) 12.8 4,271 (100) 3.0 22,288 (100) 7.9

* Percentages might not total 100% due to rounding. Sex was unknown for two decedents.

Per 100,000 population.

§ The following sentence can be used as a guide for interpreting the victim-suspect relationship: “The victim is the [insert relationship] of the suspect.” For example, when a parent kills a child, the relationship is “child” not “parent” (“The victim is the child of the suspect”). This sentence is intended to be a general guide; certain relationships might not be captured by this sentence (e.g., other person known to victim or victim was law enforcement officer killed in the line of duty).

Includes all U.S. states and District of Columbia, with exception of Florida and Hawaii. Data for California are for violent deaths that occurred in 31 counties (Amador, Butte, Colusa, Fresno, Glenn, Humboldt, Imperial, Kings, Lake, Lassen, Los Angeles, Mendocino, Merced, Modoc, Mono, Orange, Placer, Sacramento, San Benito, San Diego, San Francisco, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Cruz, Shasta, Siskiyou, Solano, Sonoma, Tehama, Ventura, and Yolo). Data for Texas are for violent deaths that occurred in 13 counties (Bell, Bexar, Collin, Dallas, Denton, El Paso, Fort Bend, Harris, Montgomery, Nueces, Tarrant, Travis, and Williamson). Denominators for the rates for California and Texas represent only the populations of the counties from which the data were collected.

** Dashes indicate cell data are suppressed because number of decedents is <20 or when characteristic response is “Other” or “Unknown.”

†† Persons of Hispanic or Latino (Hispanic) origin might be of any race but are categorized as Hispanic; all racial groups are non-Hispanic.

§§ Other location includes (in descending order): abandoned house, building, or warehouse; supervised residential facility; industrial or construction area; office building; preschool, school, college, or school bus; hospital or medical facility; synagogue, church, or temple; farm; railroad tracks; cemetery, graveyard, or other burial ground; bridge; and other unspecified location.

¶¶ Percentage is based on the number of homicide decedents with a known victim-suspect relationship (n = 7,284 [32.7%]; 5,018 [27.9%] males and 2,265 [53.0%] females); the victim-suspect relationship was unknown for 15,004 decedents.

*** Includes adoptive family members (e.g., adopted child), stepfamily members (e.g., stepparent), and foster family members (e.g., foster child).

††† Other victim-suspect relationship includes (in descending order): intimate partner of suspect’s parent (e.g., teenager kills his mother’s boyfriend) and victim was law enforcement officer injured in line of duty.