1.8% of Gun Related Deaths in the Home Due to Self-Defense
To study the epidemiology of deaths involving firearms kept in the home, we reviewed all the gunshot deaths that occurred in King County, Washington (population 1,270,000), from 1978 through 1983. The medical examiner's case files were supplemented by police records or interviews with investigating officers or both, to obtain specific information about the circumstances, the scene of the incident, the type of firearm involved, and the relationship of the suspect to the victim. A total of 743 firearm-related deaths occurred during this six-year period, 398 of which (54 percent) occurred in the residence where the firearm was kept. Only 2 of these 398 deaths (0.5 percent) involved an intruder shot during attempted entry. Seven persons (1.8 percent) were killed in self-defense. For every case of self-protection homicide involving a firearm kept in the home, there were 1.3 accidental deaths, 4.6 criminal homicides, and 37 suicides involving firearms. Handguns were used in 70.5 percent of these deaths.
Notes:
Folksonomies: gun ownership second amendment gun safety
Taxonomies:
/society/crime/personal offense/homicide (0.625675)
/sports/hunting and shooting (0.404398)
/law, govt and politics/law enforcement/police (0.319899)
Keywords:
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Entities:
King County:Location (0.900148 (:0.000000)), Washington:Location (0.738930 (:0.000000)), 70.5 percent:Quantity (0.738930 (:0.000000)), 0.5 percent:Quantity (0.738930 (:0.000000)), 1.8 percent:Quantity (0.738930 (:0.000000)), 54 percent:Quantity (0.738930 (:0.000000)), six-year:Quantity (0.738930 (:0.000000)), 1.8%:Quantity (0.738930 (:0.000000))
Concepts:
Firearm (0.984228): dbpedia_resource
Homicide (0.965624): dbpedia_resource
Suicide (0.874226): dbpedia_resource
Gun (0.865482): dbpedia_resource
Handgun (0.856069): dbpedia_resource
Murder (0.721697): dbpedia_resource
Police (0.706500): dbpedia_resource
Protection or Peril?Schemas
Science of Gun Ownership
Owning a gun is contraindicated to home security and personal safety.
