Washington Ceasefire

Washington State's 2006 firearm death rate was nearly 9 per 100,000 people -- over twice as high as the State Department of Health's Healthy People Goals for 2010. Although homicides and overall fatalities were down in 2006, non-fatal firearm assaults and overall firearm assaults rose, increasing greatly when compared with numbers from 2005. Firearm deaths are decreasing at a much slower rate than injuries are increasing, thus our overall firearm incident rate is up, despite deaths going down slightly. The new health data also showed that once again in 2006 firearms deaths far outstripped deaths due to HIV/AIDS. Firearms are still a weapon of choice for criminals, too.

Here's a look at the data:

Firearm Deaths in Washington State 2005 and 2006

Source: Washington State Department of Health Vital Statistics

Fatality Type	2005 Fatality Count	2006 Fatality Count	Percent Change
Unintentional	8	9	13% Increase*
Suicide	396	392	1% Decrease
Homicide	141	121	14% Decrease
Undetermined	6	8	33% Increase*
Legal Intervention/War	12	9	25% Decrease
Total Firearm Fatalities	563	539	4% Decrease

 

Firearm Injuries in Washington State 2005 and 2006

Source: Washington State Department of Health Vital Statistics

Injury Type	2005 Injury Count	2006 Injury Count	Percent Change
Unintentional	80	101	26% Increase
Suicide Attempt	32	36	13% Increase
Assault	140	194	39% Increase
Undetermined	14	9	36% Decrease*
Legal Intervention/War	11	10	9% Decrease*
Total Firearm Injuries	277	350	26% Increase

 

*Please note that increase/decrease calculations were computed using very small sample sizes and may be unreliable.

 

(Total Firearm Deaths 2006:  539; Total HIV/AIDS Deaths:  100) 

HIV/AIDS Mortality Statistics Found in Crude Rates of Death for Selected Causes, Table C4, Washington State Vital Statistics, 2006

CDC Grant Funding to Washington State to Combat HIV/AIDS in 2006: $6,091,407

CDC Grant Funding to Washington State to Combat Firearm Injury and Death: Unknown 

Firearms and Crime in Washington State

According to Crime in Washington 2006, here is an overview of firearm use in crime in Washington State

Offense Type	Total Number of Offenses Reported	Total Offenses Firearms Used	Percent of Offenses Committed with a Firearm
Aggravated Assault	73,607	2,285	3%
Robbery	6,394	1,614	25%
Homicide	188	107	57%
Assault on an Officer	1,021	37	4%

 

Find county specific data for the decade between 1995 and 2004 here.