When Bullets Don’t Kill: a new Surveillance System Targets Firearm Injuries

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health created the first statewide surveillance system that tracked both fatal & nonfatal weapon injuries. This paper summarizes findings for 1994 & discusses their public health implications. Suicides were the leading cause of firearm fatality, while self-inflicted injuries accounted for only 3% of nonfatal firearm injuries. Those subjects who did not die from their injuries were demographically quite distinct from those who did. A higher percentage of survivors were urban-dwelling, young, half were black or Hispanic, & a greater number wounded themselves in non-vital areas. (25 refs.)