Table 2.
Fatal and non-fatal assaults and total population: individual, census tract, and city/town characteristics, Massachusetts, 1995–2010
| Variable | Total (MA) | Fatal assault cases | Non-fatal, weapons-related assault cases | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All mechanisms | Firearm only | Firearm + sharp instrument | Firearm only | ||
| Total population count: N | 6,390,611 | 2589 | 1447 | 28,910 | 7229 |
| Age (years): | |||||
| Continuous: mean (SD) | 30.7 (15.4) | 27.9 (11.4) | 27.4 (10.4) | 24.7 (9.6) | |
| Categorical (year): N (%) | |||||
| <10 | 800,148 (12.5%) | 108 (4.2%) | 10 (0.7%) | 88 (0.3%) | 50 (0.7%) |
| 10–14 | 414,912 (6.5%) | 41 (1.6%) | 24 (1.7%) | 529 (1.8%) | 231 (3.3%) |
| 15–19 | 444,315 (7%) | 386 (14.9%) | 287 (19.8%) | 5948 (20.6%) | 1955 (28.3%) |
| 20–24 | 435,559 (6.8%) | 568 (23.0%) | 402 (27.8%) | 7432 (25.7%) | 2094 (30.3%) |
| 25–29 | 448,707 (7%) | 383 (14.8%) | 258 (17.8%) | 4682 (16.2%) | 1126 (16.3%) |
| 30–34 | 469,245 (7.3%) | 254 (9.8%) | 147 (10.2%) | 3186 (11.0%) | 560 (8.1%) |
| 35–54 | 1,884,859 (29.5%) | 633 (24.4%) | 261 (18.0%) | 5697 (19.7%) | 779 (11.3%) |
| 55–74 | 1,082,980 (16.9%) | 171 (6.6%) | 54 (3.7%) | 495 (1.7%) | 107 (1.6%) |
| 75+ | 43,0291 (6.7%) | 42 (1.6%) | 3 (0.2%) | 36 (0.1%) | 10 (0.1%) |
| (unknown) | 0 (0%) | 3 (0.1%) | 1 (0.1%) | 817 (2.8%) | 317 (4.1%) |
| Race/ethnicity: N (%)a | |||||
| White non-Hispanic | 5,374,504 (81.4%) | 829 (34.6%) | 330 (22.8%) | 8737 (34.0%) | 1207 (18.6%) |
| Black non-Hispanic | 383,437 (6.0%) | 973 (40.6%) | 745 (51.5%) | 9184 (35.7%) | 3333 (51.3%) |
| Hispanic | 479,296 (7.5%) | 525 (21.9%) | 328 (22.7%) | 7154 (27.8%) | 1779 (27.4%) |
| Asian and Pacific Islander non-Hispanic | 287,577 (4.5%) | 61 (2.5%) | 38 (2.6%) | 585 (2.3%) | 167 (2.6%) |
| American Indian/Alaska Native | 12,781 (0.2%) | 6 (0.3%) | 5 (0.4%) | 34 (0.1%) | 6 (0.1%) |
| (unknown) | 0 (0%) | 3 (0.1%) | 2 (0.1%) | 3216 (11.1%) | 737 (10.2%) |
| Gender: N (%) | |||||
| Men | 3,082,622 (48.2%) | 2012 (77.7%) | 1277 (88.3%) | 24,434 (87.1%) | 6384 (91.1%) |
| Women | 3,307,990 (51.8%) | 577 (22.3%) | 170 (11.7%) | 3632 (12.9%) | 621 (8.9%) |
| (unknown) | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 844 (2.9%) | 224 (3.1%) |
| Date of assault: | |||||
| Continuous: mean (SD) | 2003 (5) | 2003 (5) | 2003 (5) | 2003 (5) | |
| Categorical (year): N (%) | |||||
| 1995–1999 | 6,249,295 (32.6%) | 756 (29.2%) | 382 (26.4%) | 8938 (31.4%) | 1909 (26.7%) |
| 2000–2004 | 6,391,397 (33.3%) | 758 (29.3%) | 416 (28.7%) | 8376 (29.4%) | 2057 (28.8%) |
| 2005–2010 | 6,507,721 (34.0%) | 1075 (41.5%) | 649 (44.9%) | 11,199 (39.3%) | 3179 (44.5%) |
| (unknown) | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 397 (1.4%) | 84 (1.2%) |
| County of residence: N (%) | |||||
| Barnstable | 213,147 (3.3%) | 47 (1.8%) | 14 (1%) | 417 (1.5%) | 60 (0.9%) |
| Berkshire | 131,990 (2.1%) | 22 (0.9%) | 7 (0.5%) | 369 (1.4%) | 63 (1.0%) |
| Bristol | 544,589 (8.5%) | 185 (7.2%) | 91 (6.3%) | 2930 (10.7%) | 557 (8.4%) |
| Dukes | 16,073 (0.3%) | 2 (0.1%) | 0 (0%) | 8 (0%) | 0 (0%) |
| Essex | 736,933 (11.5%) | 239 (9.2%) | 116 (8.0%) | 2843 (10.4%) | 597 (9.0%) |
| Franklin | 71,327 (1.1%) | 13 (0.5%) | 4 (0.3%) | 112 (0.4%) | 12 (0.2%) |
| Hampden | 463,249 (7.2%) | 309 (11.9%) | 164 (11.3%) | 3650 (13.3%) | 985 (14.9%) |
| Hampshire | 157,287 (2.5%) | 15 (0.6%) | 3 (0.2%) | 171 (0.6%) | 26 (0.4%) |
| Middlesex | 1,495,070 (23.4%) | 276 (10.7%) | 126 (8.7%) | 2890 (10.5%) | 489 (7.4%) |
| Nantucket | 9771 (0.2%) | 2 (0.1%) | 0 (0%) | 13 (0.1%) | 0 (0.0%) |
| Norfolk | 666,212 (10.4%) | 104 (4.0%) | 45 (3.1%) | 910 (3.3%) | 149 (2.3%) |
| Plymouth | 48,941 (7.7%) | 182 (7.0%) | 111 (7.7%) | 1987 (7.3%) | 574 (8.7%) |
| Suffolk | 717,501 (11.2%) | 979 (37.8%) | 663 (45.8%) | 8778 (32.0%) | 2596 (39.2%) |
| Worcester | 790,428 (12.4%) | 214 (8.3%) | 104 (7.2%) | 2340 (8.5%) | 520 (7.9%) |
| (unknown) | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 1492 (5.2%) | 601 (8.3%) |
| Residence by city/town sizeb: N (%) | |||||
| Group 1: population ≥175,000 | 772,223 (12.1%) | 1037 (40.1%) | 703 (48.6%) | 9021 (32.9%) | 2798 (42.2%) |
| Group 2: population 75,000 to <175,000 | 1,051,132 (16.4%) | 739 (28.5%) | 424 (29.3%) | 9611 (35.1%) | 2404 (36.3%) |
| Group 3: population 50,000 to <75,000 | 670,077 (10.5%) | 167 (6.5%) | 57 (3.9%) | 2118 (7.7%) | 322 (4.9%) |
| Group 4: population 25,000 to <50,000 | 1,581,206 (24.7%) | 346 (13.4%) | 161 (11.1%) | 4069 (14.8%) | 750 (11.3%) |
| Group 5: population <25,000 | 2,304,038 (36.1%) | 300 (11.6%) | 102 (7.1%) | 2599 (9.5%) | 354 (5.3%) |
| (unknown) | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 1492 (5.2%) | 601 (8.3%) |
| City/town characteristics: Average (1990–2010)b | |||||
| City/towns: N (%) | 313 (100%) | ||||
| (unknown) | 0 (0%) | ||||
| City/town: % below poverty: mean (SD) | 6.3% (4.4) | 16.3% (6.5) | 17.4% (6.0) | 1492 (5.2%) | 601 (8.3%) |
| City/town: Index of Concentration at the Extreme (ICE): | |||||
| ICE: income (low vs. high income) | 0.20 (0.21) | 0.00 (0.15) | −0.02 (0.13) | −0.03 (0.14) | −0.04 (0.13) |
| ICE: race/ethnicity (black vs. white) | 0.91 (0.11) | 0.52 (0.26) | 0.47 (0.24) | 0.54 (0.25) | 0.47 (0.23) |
| ICE: race/ethnicity + income (black low income vs. white high income) | 0.33 (0.14) | 0.16 (0.11) | 0.15 (0.01) | 0.15 (0.10) | 0.13 (0.09) |
| Index of Dissimilarity (black vs. white) | 43.3 (25.7) | 59.0 (14.9) | 60.9 (15.2) | 57.1 (13.9) | 58.8 (14.6) |
| Census tract (CT) characteristics: Average (1990–2010) | |||||
| AVERAGE (1990–2010) | |||||
| CT: N (%) | 1478 (100%) | ||||
| (unknown) | 18 (0.7%) | 9 (0.7%) | 1492 (5.2%) | 601 (8.3%) | |
| CT % below poverty: mean (SD) | 10.9% (10.7) | 20.2% (12.9) | 22.0% (12.5) | 21.1% (12.7) | 23.2% (12.6) |
| CT Index of Concentration at the Extreme (ICE): | |||||
| ICE: income (low vs. high income) | 0.11 (0.27) | −0.09 (0.25) | −0.12 (0.24) | −0.12 (0.24) | −0.15 (0.24) |
| ICE: race/ethnicity (black vs. white) | 0.75 (0.33) | 0.29 (0.58) | 0.15 (0.60) | 0.37 (0.52) | 0.20 (0.55) |
| ICE: race/ethnicity + income (black low income vs. white high income) | 0.27 (0.20) | 0.07 (0.22) | 0.02 (0.22) | 0.08 (0.19) | 0.02 (0.20) |
| Index of Dissimilarity (black vs. white) | 35.5 (23.7) | 34.9 (16.2) | 34.4 (16.5) | 34.4 (16.3) | 33.8 (16.3) |
| Fatal assault | |||||
| Cause of deathc: N (%) | 2397 (100%) | ||||
| Homicide due to firearm (ICD-9: E965.0-E965.4; ICD-10: X93-X95) | 1417 (54.7%) | ||||
| Death due to legal intervention ((ICD-9: E970 (firearm) + E971-E977 (other); ICD-10: Y935 (firearm) + Y351-Y357 (other) | 33 (1.3%) | ||||
| All other assault deaths: (ICD-9: E960-E964, E965.5-E969; ICD-10: X85-X92, X96-Y08) | 1139 (44.0%) | ||||
Percent distribution is based on observed values; percent for unknown is based on total population
aBecause census methodology for recording race/ethnicity changed between 1995 and 2010, we derived proportions for each race/ethnicity category during this period from the National Center for Health Statistic’s Bridged-Race Population Estimates [65]. We included decedents classified as Cape Verdean (N = 68) in the non-Hispanic black category
bTowns by population size, using cut-points employed in the Massachusetts Weapons-Related Injury Surveillance System [30]: Group 1: population ≥175,00 (Boston, Worcester); Group 2: population 75,000 to <175,000 (Brockton, Cambridge, Fall River, Lawrence, Lowell, Lynn, New Bedford, Newton, Quincy, Somerville, Springfield); Group 3: population 50,000 to <75,000 (Brookline, Chicopee, Framingham, Haverhill, Malden, Medford, Peabody, Plymouth, Revere, Taunton, Waltham, Weymouth); Group 4: population 25,000 to <50,000 (Natick, North Andover, North Attleborough, Northampton, Norwood, Pittsfield, Randolph, Salem, Saugus, Shrewsbury, Stoughton, Tewksbury, Wakefield, Watertown, West Springfield, Westfield, Woburn); and Group 5: population <25,000 (Abington, Acushnet, Amesbury, Ashby, Athol, Auburn, Avon, Barre, Bedford, Belmont, Blandford, Bourne, Boxford, Brewster, Brimfield, Brookfield, Carver, Charlton, Chatham, Cheshire, Clinton, Colrain, Dedham, Dennis, Dighton, Douglas, Dudley, East Bridgewater, Easthampton, Easton, Fairhaven, Foxborough, Freetown, Gardner, Gosnold, Grafton, Granby, Great Barrington, Greenfield, Groton, Hampden, Hanover, Hanson, Harwich, Hingham, Holbrook, Holden, Hopkinton, Hudson, Hull, Kingston, Lakeville, Leicester, Lincoln, Ludlow, Lunenburg, Lynnfield, Mansfield, Mashpee, Mattapoisett, Mendon, Middleborough, Millbury, Monson, Montague, Nahant, Nantucket, Newbury, Newburyport, Norfolk, North Adams, North Reading, Northbridge, Norton, Oak Bluffs, Palmer, Pelham, Plainville, Provincetown, Raynham, Reading, Rockland, Rutland, Salisbury, Sandwich, Shelburne, Shirley, Shutesbury, Somerset, Southbridge, Spencer, Stoneham, Stow, Sturbridge, Sudbury, Sutton, Swampscott, Swansea, Templeton, Townsend, Truro, Tyngsborough, Upton, Uxbridge, Wales, Walpole, Ware, Wareham, Warren, Webster, Wenham, West Bridgewater, West Brookfield, Westborough, Westford, Westminster, Weston, Westport, Westwood, Whitman, Wilbraham, Wilmington, Winchendon, Winchester, Winthrop, Yarmouth). Note: Using 2010 Census boundaries, 59 of 351 Massachusetts towns were nested within census tracts containing ≥2 towns. To ensure that these towns conformed to the multilevel structure of the rest of the data (i.e., ≥1 census tract nested within a town), we aggregated these 59 towns into 21 “super-towns”
cICD-9 codes used for 1979–1998 and ICD-10 codes used for 1999–2010 [32, 38]