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AbstractObjectiveMethodsResultsConclusionsWe use 2021 data to compare the demographic patterns of adult White and Black gun ownership with their respective race-specific rates of firearm, non-firearm and total suicide, and the percentage of suicides using firearms.Data on gun ownership came from a nationally representative sample of over 19,000 respondents to the 2021 National Firearms Survey. Both race-specific gun ownership and suicide rates were stratified by respondent demographics—sex (male, female), census region (Northeast, South, Midwest, West), urbanicity (metropolitan or non-metropolitan), and age (18-29, 30-44, 45-59, 60+).White adults reported higher rates of gun ownership than did Black adults (33% vs 24%) but a firearm was used in a similar percentage of suicides (56% vs 58%). The demographic patterns of gun ownership of White and Black adults were similar—those least likely to report owning firearms were females, those living in the Northeast, residents of metropolitan areas, and younger adults. But the suicide patterns were somewhat different—whereas suicide rates among White adults were highest among older Whites and among Whites in non-metropolitan areas, suicide rates among Black adults were highest among younger Blacks and similar in metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas.The self-reported levels and patterns of Black gun ownership cannot explain why such a high percentage of Black suicides are firearm suicides or why firearm and total suicide rates of Black adults fall so dramatically with age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although multiple interventions to remediate physical blight have been found to reduce urban firearm violence, there is limited evidence for demolishing vacant buildings as a violence reduction strategy. Starting in 2014, Detroit, MI launched a large-scale program that demolished over 10,000 buildings in its first 3 years. We analyzed the pre-post effects of this program on fatal and nonfatal firearm assaults and illegal drug violations at the U.S. Census block group level, using propensity score matching and negative binomial regression. Receiving over 5 demolitions was associated with a 11% reduction in firearm assaults, relative to comparable control locations, 95% CI [7%, 15%], p = 0.01. The program was associated with larger reductions in firearm assaults for the locations receiving moderate numbers of demolitions (between 6 and 12) than for locations receiving high numbers of demolitions (13 and over). No effects were observed for illegal drug violations and no evidence of spatial crime displacement was detected. These findings suggest that vacant building demolitions may affect gun violence., Author(s): Jonathan Jay [sup.1] [sup.2] , Luke W. Miratrix [sup.3] , Charles C. Branas [sup.1] [sup.4] , Marc A. Zimmerman [sup.1] [sup.5] , David Hemenway [sup.1] [sup.2] Author Affiliations: (Aff1) [...]

Firearm carriage is a key risk factor for interpersonal firearm violence, a leading cause of adolescent (age < 18) mortality. However, the epidemiology of adolescent firearm carriage has not been well characterized. This scoping review examined four databases (PubMed; Scopus; EMBASE; Criminal Justice Abstracts) to summarize research on patterns, motives, and underlying risk/protective factors for adolescent firearm carriage. Of 6156 unique titles, 53 peer-reviewed articles met inclusion criteria and were reviewed. These studies mostly examined urban Black youth, finding that adolescents typically carry firearms intermittently throughout adolescence and primarily for self-defense/protection. Seven future research priorities were identified, including: (1) examining adolescent carriage across age, gender, and racial/ethnic subgroups; (2) improving on methodological limitations of prior research, including disaggregating firearm from other weapon carriage and using more rigorous methodology (e.g., random/systematic sampling; broader population samples); (3) conducting longitudinal analyses that establish temporal causality for patterns, motives, and risk/protective factors; (4) capitalizing on m-health to develop more nuanced characterizations of underlying motives; (5) increasing the study of precursors for first-time carriage; (6) examining risk and protective factors beyond the individual-level; and, (7) enhancing the theoretical foundation for firearm carriage within future investigations., Author(s): Stephen N. Oliphant [sup.1] [sup.2] , Charles A. Mouch [sup.1] [sup.3] , Ali Rowhani-Rahbar [sup.1] [sup.4] [sup.5] , Stephen Hargarten [sup.1] [sup.6] , Jonathan Jay [sup.1] [sup.7] , David [...]