TABLE 6. Number, percentage,* and rate† of legal intervention§ deaths, by selected demographic characteristics of decedent, method used, location where injury occurred, and incident characteristics — 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
| ||||||
| <10 |
0 (—) |
—** |
0 (—) |
— |
0 (—)
|
—
|
| 10–14 |
2 (<1.0) |
— |
1 (2.0) |
— |
3 (<1.0)
|
—
|
| 15–19 |
29 (3.3) |
0.3 |
6 (11.8) |
— |
35 (3.8)
|
0.2
|
| 20–24 |
89 (10.2) |
1.0 |
1 (2.0) |
— |
90 (9.8)
|
0.5
|
| 25–29 |
142 (16.3) |
1.5 |
10 (19.6) |
— |
152 (16.5)
|
0.8
|
| 30–34 |
168 (19.3) |
1.7 |
9 (17.6) |
— |
177 (19.2)
|
0.9
|
| 35–44 |
238 (27.3) |
1.3 |
11 (21.6) |
— |
249 (27.0)
|
0.7
|
| 45–54 |
116 (13.3) |
0.7 |
11 (21.6) |
— |
127 (13.8)
|
0.4
|
| 55–64 |
69 (7.9) |
0.4 |
0 (—) |
— |
69 (7.5)
|
0.2
|
| 65–74 |
12 (1.4) |
— |
2 (3.9) |
— |
14 (1.5)
|
—
|
| 75–84 |
6 (<1.0) |
— |
0 (—) |
— |
6 (<1.0)
|
—
|
| ≥85 |
1 (<1.0) |
— |
0 (—) |
— |
1 (<1.0)
|
—
|
|
Race and ethnicity††
| ||||||
| American Indian or Alaska Native |
21 (2.4) |
1.9 |
0 (—) |
— |
21 (2.3)
|
0.9
|
| Asian American |
12 (1.4) |
— |
0 (—) |
— |
12 (1.3)
|
—
|
| Black or African American |
247 (28.3) |
1.4 |
9 (17.6) |
— |
256 (27.7)
|
0.7
|
| Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander |
0 (—) |
— |
0 (—) |
— |
0 (—)
|
—
|
| White |
404 (46.3) |
0.5 |
35 (68.6) |
<0.1 |
439 (47.6)
|
0.3
|
| More than one race |
16 (1.8) |
— |
0 (—) |
— |
16 (1.7)
|
—
|
| Hispanic or Latino |
170 (19.5) |
0.7 |
7 (13.7) |
— |
177 (19.2)
|
0.4
|
| Unspecified or unknown |
2 (<1.0) |
— |
0 (—) |
— |
2 (<1.0)
|
—
|
|
Method of injury
| ||||||
| Firearm |
760 (87.2) |
0.5 |
41 (80.4) |
<0.1 |
801 (86.8)
|
0.3
|
| Motor vehicles (e.g., buses, motorcycles, and other transport vehicles) |
39 (4.5) |
<0.1 |
5 (9.8) |
— |
44 (4.8)
|
<0.1
|
| Drowning |
8 (<1.0) |
— |
0 (—) |
— |
8 (<1.0)
|
—
|
| Fire or burns |
5 (<1.0) |
— |
1 (2.0) |
— |
6 (<1.0)
|
—
|
| Blunt instrument |
4 (<1.0) |
— |
0 (—) |
— |
4 (<1.0)
|
—
|
| Poisoning |
3 (<1.0) |
— |
0 (—) |
— |
3 (<1.0)
|
—
|
| Personal weapons (e.g., hands, feet, or fists) |
3 (<1.0) |
— |
0 (—) |
— |
3 (<1.0)
|
—
|
| Hanging, strangulation, or suffocation |
2 (<1.0) |
— |
0 (—) |
— |
2 (<1.0)
|
—
|
| Fall |
2 (<1.0) |
— |
0 (—) |
— |
2 (<1.0)
|
—
|
| Other (e.g., Taser, electrocution, or nail gun) |
9 (1.0) |
— |
0 (—) |
— |
9 (<1.0)
|
—
|
| Unknown |
37 (4.2) |
— |
4 (7.8) |
— |
41 (4.4)
|
—
|
|
Location of injury
| ||||||
| House or apartment |
297 (34.1) |
0.2 |
15 (29.4) |
— |
312 (33.8)
|
0.1
|
| Street or highway |
229 (26.3) |
0.2 |
12 (23.5) |
— |
241 (26.1)
|
<0.1
|
| Motor vehicle |
85 (9.7) |
<0.1 |
12 (23.5) |
— |
97 (10.5)
|
<0.1
|
| Parking lot, public garage, or public transport |
53 (6.1) |
<0.1 |
0 (—) |
— |
53 (5.7)
|
<0.1
|
| Commercial or retail area |
40 (4.6) |
<0.1 |
4 (7.8) |
— |
44 (4.8)
|
<0.1
|
| Natural area |
33 (3.8) |
<0.1 |
0 (—) |
— |
33 (3.6)
|
<0.1
|
| Other location§§ |
79 (9.1) |
— |
5 (9.8) |
— |
84 (9.1)
|
—
|
| Unknown |
56 (6.4) |
— |
3 (5.9) |
— |
59 (6.4)
|
—
|
|
Incident characteristic
| ||||||
| Emergency medical services present |
688 (78.9) |
0.5 |
42 (82.4) |
<0.1 |
730 (79.1)
|
0.3
|
| Victim was in public custody when injury occurred |
259 (29.7) |
0.2 |
14 (27.5) |
— |
273 (29.6)
|
0.1
|
| Injured at victim’s home |
214 (24.5) |
0.2 |
13 (25.5) |
— |
227 (24.6)
|
<0.1
|
| Victim was suspected of alcohol use preceding the incident |
105 (12.0) |
<0.1 |
3 (5.9) |
— |
108 (11.7)
|
<0.1
|
| Child present or witnessed incident |
47 (5.4) |
<0.1 |
5 (9.8) |
— |
52 (5.6)
|
<0.1
|
| Victim was recently released from or admitted to an institutional setting |
38 (4.4) |
<0.1 |
3 (5.9) |
— |
41 (4.4)
|
<0.1
|
| Victim was experiencing homelessness |
26 (3.0) |
<0.1 |
1 (2.0) |
— |
27 (2.9)
|
<0.1
|
| Victim was experiencing housing instability |
23 (2.6) |
<0.1 |
1 (2.0) |
— |
24 (2.6)
|
<0.1
|
| Victim was injured at work or while working |
4 (<1.0) |
— |
1 (2.0) |
— |
5 (<1.0)
|
—
|
| Total | 872 (100) | 0.6 | 51 (100) | <0.1 | 923 (100) | 0.3 |
* Percentages might not total 100% due to rounding.
† Per 100,000 population.
§ The term “legal intervention” does not denote the lawfulness or legality of the circumstances surrounding the death.
¶ 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): hotel or motel; park, playground, or public use area; sports or athletic area; jail or prison; hospital or medical facility; bar or nightclub; industrial or construction area; office building; cemetery, graveyard, or other burial ground; preschool, school, college, or school bus; supervised residential facility; bridge; and other unspecified location.