Abstract:
During the period 2000 to 2011, the overall U.S. Hispanic population grew 46 percent. This study is intended to report the latest national information available at the time of writing on Hispanic homicide victimization and suicide in the United States, the role of firearms in homicide and suicide, and overall gun death figures. Recognizing this demographic landscape, the importance of documenting such victimization is clear. The homicide victimization rate for Hispanics is more than twice as high as the murder rate for whites. The study also shows that homicide is the second leading cause of death for Hispanics ages 15 to 24. In addition, the study found more than two-thirds of Hispanic murder victims are killed with guns. Hispanic Victims of Lethal Firearms Violence in the United States is a comprehensive study on gun violence against Hispanics in America. It is based on data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as well as unpublished information from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Supplementary Homicide Report [Information on the Hispanic ethnicity of homicide victims was reported only for the following states: Arizona, California, Georgia, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington; no SHR data was collected for Florida or Alabama]. In total, the study found more than 38,000 Hispanics were killed by guns between 1999 and 2010, including 26,349 homicide victims killed with guns and 10,314 gun suicides. The report also found that Hispanic victims are more likely to be killed by a stranger than the national average. Importantly, the actual number of Hispanic victims is almost certainly higher than the number reported in the study, due to major shortcomings in the way public agencies collect information on Hispanic ethnicity. The study recommends that government agencies improve the way they collect and report data on Hispanic victims of lethal violence. (Violence Policy Center Press Release)