A total of 48,117 people died of gunshot wounds last year, according to the CDC data, the second highest single-year tally on record. That’s a 1.5 percent decrease from 2021, when 48,830 people died of gunshot wounds.
The data comes from the CDC’s WONDER database, which collects mortality information from death certificates at the state level. The estimates are provisional, and are likely to change slightly before final figures are released in December. While the data is not yet final, it provides the most comprehensive and accurate accounting of gun deaths in America.
The other stats, which I think are more interesting, are further down:
Suicides accounted for the largest share of gun deaths in 2022. According to the data, 26,993 people died by gun suicide last year, accounting for 56 percent of all gun deaths. That’s a 2.5 percent jump from 2021.
A total of 19,592 people died by gun homicide in 2022, accounting for 41 percent of gun deaths. That amounts to a 6.5 percent drop from the previous year.
I didn’t see anything in the article that suggested why this occurred but the last paragraph seems to allude firearm accessibility:
Wintemute of U.C. Davis said widespread gun ownership and easy access to firearms “remains a major determinant of firearm mortality,” while strong gun access laws are associated with low gun death rates.
The second to last paragraph states which States have the highest/lowest gun deaths which directly relate to the highest/lowest gun ownership rates and lax/comprehensive firearm regulations but I kinda figured that would be the case.
It’s nice to see that total gun-related deaths are down but sad to see that suicide rates are up.
