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Objective: A growing body of evidence suggests that the nation's vital statistics system undercounts unintentional firearm deaths that are not self inflicted. This issue was examined by comparing how unintentional [...]

Issues concerning the deaths of over 40,000 people from gunshot wounds in the US every year are discussed. Twelve case studies of female murders in the year to October 1999 are presented.

Question: What's the most painful (and deadly) place on your body to get shot? Answer The pelvis. 'There's a nerve bundle there that distributes pain throughout your entire body,' says [...]

Objective: To examine the characteristics of unintentional and assaultive firearm-related pediatric injuries treated in trauma centers. Design: Comparative analysis of patients 14 years or younger who were admitted to the trauma centers because of unintentional firearm-related injuries (n= 292) vs assaultive firearm-related injuries (n=457). Setting: Sixty-eight trauma centers or children's hospitals in the continental United States and Canada that reported data to the National Pediatric Trauma Registry from January 1, 1990, through December 31, 1994. Main Outcome Measures: Frequency distributions of firearm-related injuries in relation to intent and injury circumstances, odds ratios (ORB) on the intent of injury being assaultive, injury severity scales, and in-hospital fatality rates. Results: The frequency of unintentional firearm-related injuries rose in the afternoons peaking between 4 and 5 PM; they predominantly occurred at home (89%). Assaultive firearm-related injuries peaked sharply between 8 and 9 PM and usually occurred on roads or in other public places (63%). About 3 times as many boys as girls were harmed in firearm-related injuries. Given a firearm-related injury resulting in admission to a trauma center, the adjusted OR of it being assaultive was 2.8 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.6-4.6) if the victim was a girl, 4.9 (95% CI, 3.1-7.8) if the shooting occurred at night, 2.6 (95% CI, 1.6-4.2) if the shooting occurred on a weekday, and 21.1 (95% CI, 9.1-49.4) if the shooting occurred on a road. Injury patterns and severity were similar between patients with unintentional and assaultive injuries. Overall, 19% of the patients sustained head injuries, which contributed to 90% of the in-hospital deaths. Conclusions: Marked differences in injury circumstances exist between unintentional and assaultive firearm-related injuries among children. The late afternoon hours when many children have come home from school but their parents may still be working have the highest frequency of unintentional firearm-related injuries. The evening peak of assaultive injuries may be related to drug-related and gang-related violence. While it is important to reduce the access of firearms to children, school-based extracurricular and community-based social services should be considered in developing intervention programs., Firearm-related injuries in children may differ according to type of injury event and type of victim. Researchers reviewed records of 749 pediatric trauma patients seen in 68 hospitals for firearm-related injuries. A total of 292 (39%) injuries were unintentional and 457 (61%) were assaultive injuries. Unintentional firearm-related injuries were more common in the afternoon, after school hours, and at home. Assaultive injuries happened between 8 and 9 p.m. and on roads or public places. Schools and communities should develop programs to supervise children during these times.

The National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) proves to be an efficient system for monitoring nonfatal gunshot wounds and providing national estimates in the US. Failure to account for new hospitals with emergency departments and annual variations in the number of emergency department visits, affect the estimates. NEISS data is useful in studying seasonal changes and patterns of gunshot injuries during holidays and working days. The NEISS Firearm Injury Surveillance Study is useful in evaluating prevention programs.

Almost 1300 US children die and 5790 are treated for gunshot wounds each year, according to an analysis of information in several national databases. Although child firearm homicide rates in [...]

This journal often publishes papers on gun injury, almost all of them American. Readers on other shores could be forgiven for asking if the topic concerns them, given the sharp [...]

A newly published issue of Verdict Review 'Gunshot Wounds' shows that 81 percent of the recent personal injury cases brought against individuals for intentionally or accidentally inflicting gunshot wounds resulted [...]