Fewer than 15 firearm suicides were reported in DC each year over the last decade (2009-2018). In 2018, less than 10 firearm suicides were reported and therefore the CDC omitted this data for confidentiality purposes. DC’s firearm suicide has not been reported by the CDC over the last decade as the death count has been too small to produce a reliable rate.
DC
- Suicides make up 9% of all firearm deaths in DC.
- One in every five suicides in DC are by firearm.
- In 2018, there were less than 10 firearm suicide deaths in DC.
- DC’s firearm suicide rate was not able to be compared to other states in 2018, since fewer than 10 firearm suicides were reported and therefore the CDC omitted this data for confidentiality purposes.
Data
Firearm Deaths in DC2009-2018
Number of deaths
Suicide
Homicide
Other
The “other” category is defined as any firearm death that is not defined by the CDC as a homicide or a suicide. This could include unintentional, undetermined, and legal intervention. To obtain the number of deaths in the “other” category, the total number of firearm suicide deaths and firearm homicide deaths were subtracted from the overall firearm deaths in a given year.
* Denotes years in which fewer than 10 firearm suicides were reported. The CDC suppresses data in which fewer than 10 deaths are reported. For any year in which there were less than 10 firearm suicides reported, these deaths are collapsed into the “other” category.
Firearm Suicide Rates in DC and the United States2009-2018
Age-adjusted rate per 100,000
DC
United States
The CDC considers firearm suicide rates based on fewer than 20 deaths “statistically unreliable.” Fewer than 20 firearm suicides were reported in DC from 2009-2018 and therefore are omitted from the graph above.
Demographics
The majority of suicide decedents are males. In DC, Black males in particular are disproportionately impacted by firearm suicide.
Firearm Suicide Deaths in DC by Sex2014-2018
Female
Male
Firearm Suicide Rates in DC by Sex, Race, and Ethnicity2014-2018
Male
The chart above includes one racial categories: (1) Black.
The CDC considers firearm suicide rates based on fewer than 20 deaths “statistically unreliable” and suppresses firearm suicide rates based on fewer than 10 deaths. Fewer than 20 firearm suicides were reported during this time period for the following races and Hispanic Origin category and therefore are omitted from the above chart: American Indian/ Alaska Native females and males, Asian/ Pacific Islander females and males, Black females, White females and males, and Hispanic/Latino females and males.
Notes:
- The most recently available CDC data is 2018; as such, 2018 data is used where appropriate.
- Unless otherwise specified, statistics reflect 5-year averages (2014-2018).
- All rates listed are age-adjusted in order to allow for accurate comparisons between populations with differing age distributions.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. Suicide Deaths and Rates per 100,000. WONDER Online Database, 1999-2018. Available: http://wonder.cdc.gov/ucd-icd10.html.
This page was last updated on March 19, 2020.