Problem/Condition: In 2012, more than 57,000 persons died in the United States as a result of violence-related injuries. This report summarizes data from CDC’s National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) regarding violent deaths from 17 U.S. states for 2012. Results are reported by sex, age group, race/ethnicity, marital status, location of injury, method of injury, circumstances of injury, and other selected characteristics.

Reporting Period Covered: 2012.

Description of System: NVDRS collects data regarding violent deaths obtained from death certificates, coroner/medical examiner reports, law enforcement reports, and secondary sources (e.g., child fatality review team data, supplementary homicide reports, hospital data, and crime laboratory data). NVDRS data collection began in 2003 with seven states (Alaska, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon, South Carolina, and Virginia) participating; six states (Colorado, Georgia, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin) joined in 2004, four (California, Kentucky, New Mexico, and Utah) in 2005, two in 2010 (Ohio and Michigan), and fourteen in 2014 for a total of 32 states. This report includes data from 17 states that collected statewide data in 2012; data from California are not included in this report because data were not statewide and not collected after 2008. Michigan was excluded because data collection was not statewide as of 2012.

Results: For 2012, a total of 18,615 fatal incidents involving 19,124 deaths were captured by NVDRS in the 17 states included in this report. The majority (64.9%) of deaths were suicides, followed by homicides (24.8%), including deaths involving legal intervention (i.e., deaths caused by law enforcement and other persons with legal authority to use deadly force, excluding legal executions. The term legal intervention is the classification adopted by the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) and does not denote the lawfulness or legality of the circumstances surrounding a death caused by law enforcement, deaths of undetermined intent (9.7%), and unintentional firearm deaths (0.6%). Suicides occurred at higher rates among males, non-Hispanic whites and American Indian/Alaska Native, and persons aged 45–54 years. Suicides most often occurred in a house or apartment and most frequently involved the use of firearms. Suicides were preceded primarily by a mental health problem, an intimate partner problem, a crisis during the previous or impending 2 weeks, and/or a physical health problem. Homicide rates were highest among males, particularly non-Hispanic black males, and persons aged 15–44 years. The majority of homicides involved the use of a firearm and occurred in a house or apartment, or on a street/highway. Homicides were primarily precipitated by one or more of the following: arguments and interpersonal conflicts, occurrence in conjunction with another crime, or were related to intimate partner violence (particularly for women, for whom almost half of homicides were intimate partner violence-related). When the relationship between the homicide victim and suspected perpetrator was known, it was most frequently either an acquaintance/friend or intimate partner. Unintentional firearm deaths occurred most frequently among males, non-Hispanic whites, and persons aged 15-19 and 55-64 years. Unintentional firearm deaths most often occurred in a house or apartment, and were most often precipitated by a person playing with the firearm, unintentionally pulling the trigger, or while hunting.

Interpretation: This report provides a detailed summary of data from NVDRS for 2012. The results indicate that violent deaths resulting from self-inflicted or interpersonal violence disproportionately affected persons aged <65 years, males, and certain minority populations. For both homicides and suicides, intimate partner problems, interpersonal conflicts, mental health problems, and recent crises were among the primary precipitating factors.

Public Health Action: The continued development and expansion of NVDRS to include all U.S. states, territories, and the District of Columbia is essential to CDC’s efforts to reduce the public health impact of violence. NVDRS data can be used to monitor the occurrence of violence-related fatal injuries and assist public health authorities in the development, implementation, and evaluation of programs and policies to reduce and prevent violent deaths.

Publication date from document properties.

2012 NVDRS Report_Final_508.pdf