Following the shooting that left a faculty member dead at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, discussions about gun violence in the state ensued. Here’s a look at a few key statistics that help portray what the issue looks like in Durham and North Carolina.
1,839
North Carolina totaled 1,839 deaths from firearms in 2021 for a rate of 17.3 deaths per 100,000 residents, tied for the 19th highest rate in the country. On average, roughly five North Carolinians die per day from gun violence.
78
From Jan. 1 to June 3, 78 people were shot in Durham, 20 of whom were under the age of 18. Firearms are the leading cause of injury-related death for children and youth in North Carolina, with the rate more than doubling between 2019 and 2021.
$19.5 billion
RTI International estimates that deaths and injury due to gun violence costs North Carolina $19.5 billion annually. In comparison, North Carolina allocated $11.9 billion to education for the 2022-23 year.
41%
North Carolina has seen an alarming rise in gun deaths in the past 15 years. From 2010 to 2019, gun homicides increased 41% compared to a 26% increase nationally.
In North Carolina, Black and American Indian or Alaska Native people die from gun homicides disproportionately more than Latino, White and Asian and Pacific Islander people. However, white people die at higher rates of gun suicides.
60%
Suicides account for 60% of all gun deaths in North Carolina. On average, 810 people in the state die by gun suicide every year, the 29th highest rate in the country.
48,830
There were 48,830 gun deaths among Americans of all ages in 2021. This number was up 23% from the total recorded in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Dom Fenoglio is a Trinity sophomore and an assistant Blue Zone editor of The Chronicle's 119th volume.